Iraq PM visits reconquered Ramadi

Sunni fighters deployed in recaptured city

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on Tuesday visited Ramadi, a day after federal forces announced the liberation of the city from the Islamic State (ISIS) group, clinching a landmark victory.

Mr Abadi arrived by helicopter in the battle-scarred city, which lies around 100 km west of Baghdad and is the capital of the province of Anbar.

The Premier vowed Monday, after counter-terrorism forces raised the flag above the key government complex in Ramadi, to rid the whole country of the ISIS by the end of 2016.

It is customary for the Premier to visit newly-reconquered cities, but he was likely to feel particularly vindicated by the victory in Ramadi, which government forces had lost in May.

Mr Abadi was criticised at home for not resorting to the powerful Tehran-backed Shia militia groups that played a key role in retaking other cities such as Tikrit and Baiji and instead coordinating with the US-led coalition.

Meanwhile, hundreds of fighters from local Sunni tribes were deployed Tuesday in some areas of Ramadi, security officials said.

“Five hundred members of the tribes from the Hashed arrived in northern Ramadi to participate in operations there and hold the liberated areas,” said Major Gen. Ismail Mahalawi, who heads Anbar operations command.

The Hashed al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilisation) is an umbrella group of mostly Tehran-backed Shia militias that have played a key role in retaking land from the ISIS.

However, Sunni fighters from Anbar tribes opposed to the jihadists also officially belong to the group, which is nominally under Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi’s command.

“Five units of tribal forces arrived on Tuesday and hold the areas of Jaraishi, Zawiyah and Albu Faraj north of Ramadi,” said their leader, Tareq Yusef al-Asal.

They had been trained on Habbaniyah base and armed by the defence ministry, he added.The provincial headquarters had been the epicentre of the fighting since Iraqi forces punched through ISIS defences a week ago to cap a months-long operation to retake Ramadi.

The most powerful groups in the Hashed al-Shaabi played only a peripheral role in the Ramadi battle, as Mr Abadi and the US-led coalition wanted federal forces to regain confidence by spearheading the operation.

Separately, the US hailed Ramadi victory.“The expulsion of ISIL (ISIS) by Iraqi security forces, supported by our international coalition, is a significant step forward in the campaign to defeat this barbaric group and restore Iraq’s territorial sovereignty,” US defence secretary Ashton Carter said.