Iraq News

Iraq fully retakes al-Rutbah from ISIL: officials

Iraqi security forces on Tuesday (October 25th) regained full control of a western Anbar province town that was attacked by "Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant" (ISIL) militants two days earlier, AFP reported.

Seeking to draw attention away from an offensive to retake the city of Mosul, ISIL struck the town of al-Rutbah in the country's west and Kirkuk in the north in recent days.

"Our forces completely cleared the town of al-Rutbah," Anbar military operations commander Maj. Gen. Ismail al-Mahalawi told Diyaruna.

"Things have returned to normal," he said, stressing that there is no more presence of ISIL elements in al-Rutbah or its suburbs.

ISIL fighters attacked al-Rutbah on Sunday, briefly seizing the mayor's office before being pinned back by the security forces but still maintaining control of two neighbourhoods.

They executed five Iraqis, including members of the security forces, in the town on Monday, army officers said.

On Friday, dozens of group fighters launched an attack on the Kurdish-controlled city of Kirkuk , killing at least 46 people, mostly members of the security forces.

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