Iraqi forces have ramped up security in the western Anbar city of al-Rutbah to prevent "Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant" (ISIL) elements from infiltrating following a failed attack, local officials tell Diyaruna.

ISIL fighters attacked the city on October 23rd in an attempt to draw the Iraqi military's attention away from the Mosul offensive, officials said, but Iraqi forces killed the infiltrators after two days of fierce fighting and set fire to their vehicles.

The city, liberated May 19th after two years under ISIL rule, has regained normalcy and stability has started to settle in, residents and local officials said, adding that they are on the alert again following the attack.

"People are rallying around the army and the police so as to ward off terrorist threats," local baker Jabbar al-Obeidi, 41, told Diyaruna.

"We will not compromise our city's security," he said. "We have returned to our homes after much suffering as a result of ISIL forcing us into displacement and we are now hopeful."

"The terrorists will fail thanks to the commitment of our forces and our support of them," he said, adding that city residents "want to live in peace and stability, free from terrorism and destruction. This is what we all wish for".

Preserving al-Rutbah's security

ISIL does not control one inch of the city, al-Rutbah district mayor Imad Mashal al-Dulaimi told Diyaruna, noting that the October attack was fully blocked.

"Working with local families, our forces have managed to thwart the major simultaneous attack launched by the terrorist group using dozens of suicide bombers and car bombs," he said.

"All of the attackers were killed and their cars destroyed," he said. "This was followed by a massive sweep to make sure that all residential areas were free of terrorists."

"The city is now safe and the security forces and residents are both on alert in order to avoid the recurrence of a security breach," he said.

Al-Dulaimi urged the security forces to step up their sorties in the surrounding area to completely rid it of ISIL fighters and divert danger from the city.

"ISIL has lost its foothold in al-Rutbah but it is possible that they still have hideouts and pockets in the nearby desert," he said.

Additionally, the western Anbar cities of al-Qaim, Anah, Rawa and Akashat "are still in the hands of the terrorists , and they pose huge threats to the security of our city", he said, calling on the Iraqi forces to liberate these areas.

Al-Rutbah has been secured and army, police and tribal forces have control of the situation, said Anbar provincial council security committee member Rajeh Barakat.

However, he told Diyaruna, "the ISIL threat still stands, because the city is open to vast desert areas, making complete security control of these areas quite difficult due to many natural hiding places".

It will be important to reinforce the military units charged with protecting al-Rutbah by opening the door for residents to volunteer, Barakat added, as they have a good grasp of the area's terrain.

"It also is important to supply the forces there with more armoured vehicles and heavy weapons, since most members of the police in the city only have a limited supply of armoured vehicles and light weapons," he said.

Local government services

Meanwhile, the local government continues to provide public services for people returning to al-Rutbah, with city council chairman Subhi Jubair Thiab noting that about 4,000 of 6,000 displaced families have returned since the city was liberated.

"We try as best we can to provide services to the returning families," he told Diyaruna.

"We opened schools, but we have severe shortages in teaching staff and the local hospital needs to offer better services for the families," he said. "We are working on supplying all neighbourhoods with drinking water."

"As for electricity, people are entirely dependent upon privately owned generators because the city primarily gets its electricity from the power plant in al-Qaim, and that town is still under terrorist control," Thiab said.

"In spite of the hardship, the situation in the city is getting better and locals are happy to be rescued from ISIL control and are working with the security forces to protect their city," he said.