Alwaght- Iraqi forces have liberated Khalidiya town, al-Anbar Province, from ISIS in the latest of a series of victories against the terrorist group.
Iraq’s Joint Operations Command announced on Friday evening that counter-terrorism forces recaptured Khalidiya, located some 90 kilometers west of the capital Baghdad, according to Press TV.
The provincial capital city of Ramadi was liberated in December last year after being occupied for some seven months by the terror group. The key city of Fallujah, also in Anbar, fell to ISIS in January 2014 but was fully retaken by Iraqi forces on June this year.
After these two landmark victories, Iraqi forces further tightened the noose around ISIS in the volatile province and began retaking more towns and villages, leaving the terror group with a sparse presence in Anbar.
The government forces are now largely heading north, preparing for a highly-anticipated offensive against ISIS in Mosul, the capital of Iraq's northern Nineveh province, and the terror group’s last remaining urban stronghold in Iraq and its de facto capital in the Arab country.
The northern and western parts of Iraq have been plagued by gruesome violence ever since ISIS terrorists mounted an offensive in June 2014. The terrorists have been committing vicious crimes against all ethnic and religious communities in the Arab country, including Shiites, Sunnis, Kurds and Christians.
The Iraqi army and fighters from the Popular Mobilization Forces have been engaged in joint operations to retake terrorist-held regions.
