Iraqi forces backed by a U.-led coalition have liberated the last Islamic State-held town in the country from the militant group, authorities said.
Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said in a statement Friday that soldiers freed Rawah, located 175 miles northwest of the capital Baghdad, in record time and were continuing operations to retake the country’s western desert and the border area with Syria from the extremist group, also known as ISIS.
Iraq’s Defense Ministry said the assault on the town began at dawn and was completed within hours.
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Last month, U.-backed Syrian forces retook the city of Raqqa — ISIS’ de-facto capital — after a four-month battle.
Pockets of rural territory in western Iraq, part of the Syrian town of Boukamal, and territory near Damascus and in Hama province are all that remain of ISIS’ so-called “caliphate” that once stretched from northern Syria to the edges of Baghdad.
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Contributing: The Associated Press
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