Iraqi forces enter Al-Qaim in final offensive on Islamic State territory, reported Reuters citing military.
Iraqi forces have entered al-Qaim, one of the last remaining territories in the country still held by Islamic State militants, the Joint Operations Command said on Friday.
On Friday morning, the Iraqi military began the second phase of the operation to release the Islamic State from the city of al-Qaim, located on the border with Syria, the united command of the Iraqi army said.
According to the Shiite militia, during the first hours of the offensive, as well as the special unit for combating terror and parts of the Iraqi army, it successfully managed to attack a number of settlements directly adjacent to the city of al-Qaim.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi last week announced the launch of an operation to liberate the cities of al-Qaim and Rawa, calling them the last bulwarks of terrorists in the country. The cities are in the province of Anbar in the west of Iraq, near the border with Syria.
In October, the Iraqi army completed the liberation of the city of El-Havidzh in the province of Kirkuk, the former headquarters of the IS in the country after the liberation of Mosul.