WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — It will take a while to completely clear Ramadi from the Islamic State, also known as Daesh, despite the Iraqi army announcement it had gained full control over the city, Operation Inherent Resolve spokesperson Col. Steven Warren told reporters on Tuesday.
“How long it will take them to clear the rest of Ramadi, too soon to tell,” Warren said, adding that, “It will take some time.”
Warren explained that the process of clearing the city is two-stepped, and includes eliminating the remaining enemy and reducing the obstacles such as booby traps and houses rigged to blow.
“This is going to take a while, because any house could be rigged to blow,” he added.
US ground forces and helicopters did not participate in the operation to liberate the Iraqi city of Ramadi from the Islamic State terrorists, Operation Inherent Resolve spokesperson Col. Steven Warren told reporters on Tuesday.
“There was no US ground forces involved in any way, shape or form in the fight for Ramadi,” Warren said. “There were no Apache helicopters, there were no attack helicopters of any type.”
Warren added that Sunni tribal fighters and Iraqi police will be responsible for stabilizing the situation in Ramadi.
On Monday, Iraq's army announced that it had regained full control over Ramadi, located 110 kilometers west of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad. Daesh militants had occupied the city since May.
Warren noted that some 80 percent of success in Ramadi was made due to coalition airstrikes.
Daesh, prohibited in a range of countries including the United States and Russia, has seized large areas in Syria and Iraq and declared a caliphate there under the rule of Sharia law. According to Iraqi intelligence, between 250 and 300 radical Islamist militants had been holding central districts of Ramadi.
