Iraqi forces retake last town under Islamic State control

[Peter1469]

Iraqi forces retake last town under Islamic State control


The Islamic State has no more territory in Iraq. Other than groups hiding in the desert.

Government forces wrested back the final piece of the Islamic State’s self-declared caliphate in Iraq, the country’s military said Friday, reclaiming the small town of Rawah near the border with Syria.

The Islamic State extremist group, which at its peak in 2014 held about a third of Iraq, including large cities such as Mosul, Tikrit and Fallujah, is now scattered and severely diminished. With the loss of Rawah, the militants no longer can claim to hold territory in Iraq and are quickly ceding ground in Syria, as well.
Still, Iraqi officials warn, the Islamic State poses a threat as it turns to more-traditional terrorist tactics. Since losing its de facto capital of Mosul in July, the group has been able to stage deadly suicide bombings, and its gunmen have struck civilians throughout Iraq.


Rawah is a small and sparsely populated town about 68 miles east of the Syrian border. It was surrounded by Iraqi forces for several weeks as they worked to clear the nearby towns of Qaim and Ana. Iraqi troops, backed by militia fighters and U.S. airstrikes, entered Rawah early Friday and encountered little resistance, commanders said.


Brig. Gen. Yahya Rasoul, a spokesman for the Iraqi forces, said the fight in Rawah lasted about five hours after troops entered the town. He said that “a limited number” of militants had been inside the town and that they “couldn’t withstand our forces.”

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[Common]

Finally, took many years

[Ransom]

Finally, took many years

Yes. It did. So many...late to the table. Talking rather than acting. Warning of "unintended consequences" and strongly opposing intervention especially by the United States.

Good thing here, that cooler heads did not prevail. Some talk. Some act.

[Peter1469]

Finally, took many years

It was a short war compared to the US war in Afghanistan. It was important that the locals took the led. It is the only way we have a shot of them holding their gains after the war.