Shia militia and Iraqi army launch counter-attack against IS

Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province, fell to the Sunni jihadi group earlier this month in a serious setback for Iraqi forces and a blow for the US-led coalition carrying out airstrikes against Islamic State (IS).

The group now controls most of Anbar and could soon threaten the western approaches to the Iraqi capital Baghdad.

Government sources said anti-IS forces including Shia fighters and allied Sunni tribesmen had advanced past towns in contested territory near Ramadi and were now almost four miles from the city.

The UN said 55,000 people left Ramadi after it was stormed by IS fighters on 17 May, with most taking refuge in other parts of Anbar.

Iraq’s Shia Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi is being forced to rely on Shia paramilitary groups to try to retake Ramadi – despite the risk of tension with the province’s mostly Sunni population – after the Iraqi army retreated from the city in the face of the IS attack.

Jaffar Husseini, spokesman for Shia paramilitary group Kataib Hezbollah, said more than 2,000 fighters had joined the pro-government advance, saying: “Today will witness the launch of some tactical operations that pave the way to the eventual liberation of Ramadi.”

But IS forces have been advancing from Ramadi towards IS-controlled Fallujah, bringing them closer to Baghdad, the Iraqi capital, about 50 miles to the east.

IS ‘flag flies over Palmyra’

In Syria, unconfirmed pictures showed IS fighters raising the group’s flag over the ancient city of Palmyra.

The area is close to natural gas fields and roads leading to the capital Damascus, and fell on Wednesday after days of fighting with the Syrian army.

The jihadis have sworn to destroy the 2,000-year-old UNESCO World Heritage site at Palmyra.

The US military said the international coalition had carried out 22 air strikes against IS in Iraq and Syria since Friday.