Iraq's army declared victory over Daesh fighters in a provincial capital west of Baghdad on Sunday, the first major triumph for the US-trained force since it collapsed in the face of an assault by the militants 18 months ago. After encircling the city for weeks, the Iraqi military launched a campaign to retake it last week, and made a final push to seize the central administration complex on Sunday."By controlling the complex this means that we have defeated them in Ramadi," said Sabah Al Numani, a spokesman for the force leading the fight on the government side. "The next step is to clear pockets that could exist here or there in the city."
State television broadcast footage of troops, Humvee vehicles and tanks advancing through Ramadi streets amid piles of rubble and collapsed houses. Some districts appeared to have been completely destroyed by the advance.
Television also showed nighttime celebrations in mainly Shia cities south of Baghdad for the victory in Anbar, with people dancing in the streets and waving Iraqi flags from cars.
Officials did not give any immediate death tolls for the battle. The government says most civilians were able to evacuate before it launched its assault.
Anbar provincial council member Falih Al Essawi called on the government to restore services to Ramadi quickly and start rebuilding the city to allow the return of the displaced.
Ramadi was the first major city recaptured by the army itself, without relying on the militias, who were kept off the battlefield to avoid sectarian tension with the mainly Sunni population.
The government, led by a Shia Prime Minister, Haider Al-Abadi, said Ramadi would be handed over to local police and a Sunni tribal force once it was secured, a measure meant to win over the community to the fight against Daesh.
"We have trained hundreds of tribal fighters, their role will be holding the ground," said Brigadier-General Yahya Rasool, spokesman for the joint operations command.
"Seeing their own tribes responsible for security will be a relief for the civilians" and will help convince those who have been displaced to return to the city, he added.