After seizing the government complex in central Ramadi Sunday, U.S.-backed Iraqi forces retook control of most of the city from the Islamic State on Monday.
The country’s forces raised the Iraqi flag over the government complex in the center of the city, which fell to the terror group in May.
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Earlier this week, Iraqi forces engaged Islamic State fighters for the first time during their new offensive to take back the city center of Ramadi, the provincial capital of Anbar Province, a Sunni stronghold.
Brig. Yahya Rasool told state television that the city had been “liberated.”
The Pentagon congratulated Iraqi forces on the retaking of Ramadi, calling it a “proud moment for Iraq.”
“We congratulate the Iraqi Security Forces for their continued success against ISIL in Ramadi,” coalition spokesman Col. Steve Warren said in a statement. “The clearance of the government center is a significant accomplishment and is the result of many months of hard work by the Iraqi Army, the Counter Terrorism Service, the Iraqi Air Force, local and federal police and tribal fighters.”
RAMADI SUCCESS: Coalition drone video shows ISF raising Iraqi flag over the Ramadi gov’t complex. pic.twitter.com/5NYweMXmAU
— OIR Spokesman (@OIRSpox) December 28, 2015
However, pockets of Islamic State fighters are still believed to be holed up in the city, according to an anonymous senior Iraqi security official. The official said that roughly 45 percent of Ramadi remains under militant control, mainly in northern and eastern districts, although those districts are now surrounded by government forces.
“The fight there is far from over,” a U.S. official told NBC News. “Iraqi forces may still face heavy fighting within the next few days.”
