AGENCIES
BAGHDAD
Iraqi troops have pushed deeper into the heart of the last remaining district held by Islamic State in the city of Ramadi, despite being slowed by bombs and booby traps, army spokesmen said on Saturday.
Recapturing Ramadi, which fell to the militants in May, would be one of the most important victories achieved by Iraq's armed forces since Islamic State swept across a third of the country in 2014.
Soldiers advanced overnight in the Hoz neighbourhood that houses the provincial government compound, the target of an attack that started on Tuesday, joint operations command spokesman Brigadier Yahya Rasool said.
"The counter-terrorism forces are within 800 metres (0.5 mile) from the government complex," advancing by about 1 km in the past day, Rasool said. "Air strikes helped detonate explosive devices and booby-trapped houses, facilitating our advance," he added.
Special operation commander Sami al-Aridhi said the plan was "to liberate all of Ramadi from three sides".
"Our troops are now advancing towards their targets but were delayed because the criminals have booby-trapped everything," he said.
Ramadi is a provincial capital in the fertile Euphrates River valley, just two hours drive west of Baghdad. Most remaining civilians in the Islamic State-held central district have taken shelter in the city's hospital, knowing that the army will not target it, Rasool said.
He declined to give a time frame for the final onslaught to dislodge the militants. "The campaign's priority is to avoid casualties among civilians and the troops, no matter how long it takes," he said.About 120 families were rescued from the combat zone on Saturday after securing safe routes for their exit and they were taken to a camp near Habbaniya, north of Ramadi, according to a military statement broadcast on state TV.
