31 December 2015, 15:03 GMT
MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The Iraqi army announced on Monday it had regained full control over the western Iraqi city occupied by Daesh fighters since May. The Anbar province governor and US State Secretary John Kerry later clarified that Ramadi had not yet been fully reclaimed.
The 11 deaths among Iraqi security officials on Saturday were reportedly from a series of car bomb attacks on the outskirts of the city, where the militants appear to be holed up.
Council of Anbar Province spokesman Eid Karbuli told local media on New Year’s Eve that the full liberation of Ramadi would lead to the recapture of the provincial cities of Fallujah and Heet.
Other Iraqi officials have forecast the liberation of Ramadi would lay the groundwork for an operation to regain the country’s second largest city of Mosul, captured by the terrorist group in June 2014.
