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Ramadi: Abadi visits after capture from IS

Gulan Media December 29, 2015 News
Ramadi: Abadi visits after capture from IS
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has visited Ramadi, a day after the city's liberation from the Islamic State (IS) group.
Mr Abadi, who flew in by helicopter, praised commanders and toured the badly damaged city. Earlier, he had vowed IS would be eliminated from Iraq in 2016.
Mr Abadi said recapturing Iraq's second city Mosul would be the "final blow".
Reports from Ramadi say the centre of the city appears calm, but sporadic clashes are reported in some areas.
Engineering teams are clearing bombs from streets and buildings.
The retaking of the city was welcomed by US Secretary of State John Kerry, who said IS had suffered a major blow.
Pentagon spokesman Steve Warren said some 400 civilians were being looked after by Iraqi security forces in the city centre.
He said it was too early to say where other civilians had gone but added that much of the city still needed to be cleared. No estimate of civilian casualties has been provided.

The capture in May of Ramadi, the capital of the province of Anbar which lies about 90km (55 miles) west of Baghdad, was an embarrassing defeat for the Iraqi army.
Iraqi government forces have been fighting to retake the city for weeks.

BBC
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