Warren explained that there are no American military forces on the ground fighting alongside the three US-trained Iraqi brigades taking part in the Ramadi operation, fighting against 600 to 1,000 “well-entrenched” Islamic State militants.
Advertisement
On Thursday, Iraqi forces announced that they have the city fully surrounded after the capture of the strategic Palestine Bridge on the Euphrates River in northwestern Ramadi, Anbar Province.
“The bridge is now entirely under our control”, said Sabah al-Numani, spokesman for the Iraqi Counter terrorism forces.
The predominantly Sunni province fell to the ISIL twice this year, prompting Iraqi forces to launch a large-scale campaign to recapture the region and its capital city of Ramadi.
The United States and its allies conducted 16 strikes against Islamic State in Iraq and nine in Syria on Saturday, the coalition leading the operations said in a statement.
“This advance is very important”, said the colonel on condition of anonymity.
Advertisement
The ultimate goal for Iraqi forces is to break Islamic State’s grip over the northern city of Mosul.
