Iraqi forces retake key road connecting Ramadi to Baghdad
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This photo shows Iraqi forces on a tank on Feb. 8, 2016 in the Jwaibah area on the eastern outskirts of Ramadi. ©AFP
Iraqi forces have recaptured several areas from ISIL, including a strategic road that connects the western city of Ramadi to a military base in the capital Baghdad.
According to Press TV, the Iraqi army said in a statement on Tuesday that the forces “managed to open the road from Ramadi to Baghdad, which passes through al-Khaldiya” to the army base of Habbaniya.
The army units have also liberated several other terrorist-held areas, including the town of Husaiba al-Sharqiya, about 10 kilometers east of Ramadi, read the statement.
Ramadi, the provincial capital west of Baghdad, was released in December, almost one year after it fell into the hands of ISIL in 2014.
The city’s liberation marked one of the most significant victories for Iraq’s armed forces since ISIL Takfiris seized swathes of the Iraqi land in June 2014.
The army is now preparing to retake Mosul from the Takfiris. An army official said on Monday that forces are now “arriving at a military base near the Makhmur district to start launching initial military operations toward Mosul.”
ME
