Iraqi forces make gains against Daesh east of Ramadi

BAGHDAD — Iraqi forces recaptured territory east of Ramadi from Daesh militants on Tuesday, linking the Anbar provincial capital to a major army base nearby, and officials appealed for international funding to help clear the city of explosives.

Iraq's army declared victory in December over Daesh in Ramadi after elite counterterrorism forces seized the main government building, but it has taken weeks for the commandos to clear insurgents from the rural eastern outskirts.

The recapture of Ramadi was the first major gain for the US-trained force since it collapsed in the face of an assault by the ultra-hardline militants in 2014. Ramadi's recovery boosted Prime Minister Haider Al Abadi in his quest to oust Daesh from Mosul, northern Iraq's biggest city, later this year.

A military statement broadcast on state television said the army, police and counterterrorism forces had retaken several areas including the town of Husaiba Al Sharqiya, about 10km east of Ramadi.

"[Our forces] also managed to open the road from Ramadi to Baghdad that passes through Al Khaldiya," the statement added, referring to a highway that links the city to the Habbaniya army base where US-led coalition forces are located.

"All of Ramadi has now been liberated," Anbar Governor Sohaib Al Rawi said, adding that the handover of authority to local police from the military was going smoothly.

Militants are still holed up in some rural northern districts bordering the main east-west highway, according to security sources. "The biggest challenge we are facing is clearing the areas of mines, which is now being conducted through modest local efforts," Rawi told reporters in Baghdad.

Tuesday's advance boosted government efforts to close in on Fallujah, the Daesh stronghold located between Ramadi and Baghdad now being besieged by the Iraqi army and allied, Iranian-backed Shiite Muslim militias.

Daesh militants swept through a third of Iraq in 2014, declaring a caliphate in Iraq and Syria, carrying out mass killings and imposing a draconian form of Islam, but have since been pushed back on various fronts.

UN efforts to stabilise Ramadi in preparation for the expected return of hundreds of thousands of displaced civilians are expected to cost around $50 million, according to Lise Grande, the humanitarian coordinator in Iraq.

She said this would include $15 million for removing hundreds of improvised explosive devices planted by Daesh on roads and in buildings. Grande appealed to international donors to augment the current $10 million fund allocated for that operation.

“At the rate that extraction is going with the limited capacity that exists, it will be up to nine months before the area of Tamim is cleared,” she said, referring to a large southern district of Ramadi where the first phase of UN efforts will be conducted.

The United Nations also plans to rehabilitate health and energy infrastructure in Ramadi, much of which was destroyed in fighting that included Daesh bomb attacks and devastating US-led coalition air strikes.

“Thousands of homes have to be rebuilt, thousands of buildings have to be rebuilt. The total cost of reconstruction in Ramadi is huge,” said Grande.