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IS conflict: Iraqi army 'recaptures central Hawija' Iraq forces retake town of Hawija from IS
(about 3 hours later)
Iraqi forces say they have recaptured the centre of the town of Hawija, one of the last enclaves of so-called Islamic State (IS) in the country. Iraq's prime minister says its military has retaken Hawija, the main town in one of the last two enclaves of so-called Islamic State in the country.
Hawija, where tens of thousands of civilians live, has been under the militant group's control since 2014. Haider al-Abadi told reporters that Hawija had been "liberated" as part of an operation launched two weeks ago.
Once the surrounding area falls, IS will be left controlling only a stretch of land along the border with Syria. Only areas on the town's outskirts remained to be recaptured, he added.
On Wednesday, the Iraqi army said it had killed 196 IS militants and recaptured 98 villages around Hawija. Once they fall, IS will be left with only a stretch of the Euphrates river valley around al-Qaim, in the western desert near the border with Syria.
Troops, police and paramilitaries "liberated the whole of the centre of Hawija and are continuing their advance", the operation's commander, Lieutenant General Abdel Amir Yarallah, said on Thursday morning. The jihadist group still controls large parts of the valley in the neighbouring Syrian province of Deir al-Zour, but it is under pressure there from Syrian pro-government forces and a US-backed alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters.
On Tuesday, Iraqi forces captured the Rashad air base south of the city, which was used as a training camp by the militants. The offensive on Hawija district, about 215km (135 miles) north of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, began on 21 September and has involved army, federal police and special forces units, as well as the Shia-led paramilitary Popular Mobilisation force.
The UN said on Tuesday up to 78,000 civilians were still trapped in Hawija. Iraqi security forces said IS militants were preventing some people from leaving and might have laid explosives around the town. With the help of US-led coalition air strikes and military advisers, they recaptured the town of Shirqat on the second day and then moved steadily south-eastwards.
About 12,500 people had fled since the army's operation began two weeks ago, according to the UN. It is unclear though how many civilians have escaped in the past couple of days. On Wednesday, the operation's commander Lt Gen Abdul Amir Yarallah announced that troops had begun a major operation to "liberate" Hawija itself.
Iraq's army, alongside militia allies and backed by airstrikes from the US-led coalition, has been engaged in a sustained offensive against IS' self-styled caliphate, retaking the country's second largest city Mosul in July after a nine-month battle. They quickly breached jihadist defences in the north-western outskirts and stormed the town centre as night fell.
IS continues to hold parts of Syria. By early Thursday morning, they had cleared the local government headquarters and hospital, according to federal police chief Gen Raed Jawdat.
The United Nations expressed concern earlier this week over the fate of an estimated 78,000 civilians trapped in IS-held areas of Hawija district.
Iraqi commanders said IS militants were preventing some people from leaving and might have laid explosives around the town.