Days After Being Driven out, ISIS Launches Attacks in Ramadi

Brigadier General Ahmed al-Belawi said the militants attacked Ramadi with seven suicide car bombs in two areas.

Iraqi security forces hold a national flag as they enter the southern neighbourhoods of Ramadi. (Photo: AP)

Iraq’s military has said that ISIS militants have launched suicide attacks in the western city of Ramadi, days after troops drove them out of the city center.

Brigadier General Ahmed al-Belawi told The Associated Press on Saturday that the militants stuck security forces the day before, with seven suicide car bombs in two areas on the city’s outskirts.

Al-Belawi says there were casualties among the government troops, but could not provide a specific figure. He says the troops responded to the attacks and did not lose territory.

Ramadi, the provincial capital of the sprawling Anbar province, fell to ISIS in May, marking a major setback for US-backed Iraqi forces.

Iraqi troops retook the city center on Monday, but insurgents are still holed up in parts of the city.

Iraq’s army recently declared victory over ISIS on December 28, the first major triumph for the US-trained force since it collapsed 18 months ago.

The capture of Ramadi, capital of mainly Sunni-Muslim Anbar province, had deprived ISIS militants of their biggest prize of 2015.

(With agency inputs)