Iraqi forces kicked off a large-scale military operation to retake the main road linking Haditha in western Anbar to Baiji in northern Salaheddine from the "Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant" (ISIL), the Anbar Operations Command said Thursday (October 13th).
"The army's 7th Division, with support from the tribes and the international coalition, kicked off an operation today to liberate the 130-kilometre Baiji-Haditha road," operations commander Maj. Gen. Ismail al-Mahalawi told Diyaruna.
ISIL controls the desert area between western Anbar and northern Salaheddine, he said, noting that "the operation is making progress and ISIL is retreating".
"We have noticed that the group does not engage our forces for long and its members quickly withdraw," al-Mahalawi said.
The operation aims at liberating villages and districts located along the road, he said.
