Iraqi Security Forces Advance Near Ramadi in Albu Faraj; US Says Forces Could Take Key City Soon

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Iraqi security forces have encircled the beleaguered city of Ramadi in Iraq's western Anbar province, officials in the U.S.-led coalition to fight the Islamic State group said Wednesday. The Iraqi forces gained back ground in several key villages in the countryside of Ramadi after coalition forces bombed four key targets that destroyed ISIS buildings and minefields.

The Iraqi security forces (ISF), having been trained and equipped by U.S. military advisers over the past six months, are finally ready to launch a major assault on Ramadi to retake the city from the Islamic State group, also known as ISIS, the Pentagon said.

Army Col. Steve Warren, a spokesman in Baghdad for the U.S.-led coalition, said in a press briefing Tuesday that Iraqi ground forces have advanced 9 miles in recent days and are in the city's outer suburbs.

"Iraqi ground forces recently trained by the coalition have been deployed around Ramadi in time for the decisive phase of this operation," Warren said. The Iraqi government was slated to launch the offensive in Ramadi in July, but it delayed the operation until it could train its soldiers and recruit more to disable improvised land mines.

http://www.ibtimes.com/iraqi-security-forces-advance-near-ramadi-albu-faraj-us-says-forces-could-take-key-2141350

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1. Iraqi forces recapture town from IS in Salahudin province

TIKRIT, Iraq, Oct. 16 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi forces on Friday retook control of a small town from Islamic State (IS) militants near the oil refinery town of Baiji, as major offensive continued to clear the northern part of Salahudin from IS militants, a provincial security source said.

The troops and allied Shiite and Sunni paramilitary units, known as Hashd Shaabi, drove out the IS militants from the town of Seiniyah, some 10 km west of the battlefield town of Baiji, some 200 km north of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

"The situation is under control in Seiniyah's districts except for a few clashes with some IS snipers who were surrounded in some buildings," the source said.

In Baiji, the troops carried out fierce street battles with IS militants during the past 24 hours and managed to seize the town's police headquarters in the north, while other troops retook control of some districts in central Baiji, the source said.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2015-10/16/c_134721400.htm

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2. Iraqi forces retake key oil refinery from IS militants

The Joint Military Command said Friday that government troops and paramilitary forces, made up mainly of Shiite militias, retook Beiji refinery and nearby Siniya town. It did not provide additional details on the operation at the sprawling refinery. There was also no word on the fate of the nearby town of Beiji.

Beiji, some 250 kilometers (155 miles) north of Baghdad, fell to IS during its blitz across northern Iraq a year ago, but the refinery facility remained contested. The town is strategically significant as it lies on the road to IS-held Mosul, Iraq's second largest city.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/ML_IRAQ?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2015-10-16-09-58-41

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3. K&R...