Alwaght- Iraqi army and allied forces launched an operation on Monday to liberate the town of Rutba from the ISIS Takfiri terrorist group.
Iraq's Joint Operations Command announced the start of the operation on Monday, saying that Special Forces, soldiers, police, border guards and pro-government paramilitaries are involved in the operation to retake the Anbar province town.
Rutba, located in western Anbar province along the main road to Jordan, has been held by the Takfiri group since 2014.
Al-Jazeera Operations Command, Brigadier General Ibrahim Daaboun, announced the start of the operation to liberate Rutba, noting that Popular Mobilization Forces were also taking part in the operation.
"Major military operation kicked off this morning to liberate Rutba town (310 km. west of Ramadi) from ISIS terrorist group."
Daaboun said that the operation started from the town's western, southern and eastern fronts.
Meanwhile, Anbar Operations Command said that the Iraqi forces have cleansed three explosives-rigged buildings and secured five streets in Ramadi, which is the center of Anbar.
The notorious ISIS terrorist goupp overran large areas north and west of Baghdad in June 2014, and later made further advances in Anbar, seizing Ramadi in 2015.
Iraqi forces have since regained significant ground from the Takfiri terrorists, securing the Ramadi area earlier this year and retaking the town of Heet last month.
But parts of Anbar -- including Fallujah -- are still under ISIS occupation, as is most of Nineveh province, to its north.
