Alwaght- The Iraqi Military is close to completely retake ISIS-held Ramadi city after months of fighting, as according to Anbar Provincial Council member Athal Fahdawi, 80% of the city is destroyed as a result of ISIS control over the city
The soldiers are within 300 meters (330 yards) of the provincial government compound, the target of the attack they launched on Tuesday, Sabah al-Numani, a spokesman for the counter-terrorism force that is leading the fight on the government side, said.
"We expect to reach the compound in the next 24 hours," he told Reuters. `"Booby trapped houses and roadside bombs are all over the streets, they have to be cleared; air surveillance is helping detect car bombs and suicide bombers before they get to us."
The Iraqi government forces are backed by local allied militias and tribal fighters who have played a major part in other government offensives.
Ramadi, the capital of the Anbar province, was captured by ISIS terrorists in May – the last significant military achievement of the foreign-backed Takfiri terrorist group.
ISIS terrorists took full control of Ramadi despite the fact that Ain al-Asad air base hosting US fighter jets was very close to city. The US military forces took no action to stop the ISIS terrorists fighting to take over the central Iraqi city.
After Ramadi, the army plans to move to retake the northern city of Mosul, the biggest population center under ISIS terrorist group control in Iraq and Syria.
Dislodging the terrorists from Mosul, which had a pre-war population close to 2 million, would effectively abolish their state structure in Iraq and deprive them of a major source of funding, which comes partly from oil and partly from fees and taxes on residents.
Most of the oil stolen by ISIS in Iraq and Syria is reportedly sold off in Turkey at very low prices.
Norwegian daily Klassekampen leaked details of the report, which was put together by Rystad Energy, an independent oil and gas consulting firm, at the request of the Norwegian Foreign Ministry.
“Large amounts of oil have been smuggled across the border to Turkey from IS-controlled areas in Syria and Iraq,”Klassekampen cited the report as saying. “[The] oil is sent by tankers via smuggling routes across the border [and] is sold at greatly reduced prices, from $25 to $45 a barrel.”
