ma 28 jan 2015, 19:43

“In 2016, reports’

BAGHDAD –

The Iraqi prime minister Haider al-Abadi has Monday in a televised address said that the sunni extremists of Islamic State (IS) in 2016 to be defeated. He said that,2015 is the year of the liberation and 2016 the year of the victory”.

Photo: AFP

Al-Abadi spoke to the nation on the occasion of the recapture of the provincial capital of Ramadi on the fighters of IS. The city is, according to the Iraqi armed forces since Sunday almost in its entirety under the control of government forces. For the army it is a compliment, because the fighters of IS had, so far, not much to fear from the Iraqi soldiers and the shiite militias, support from Iran.

IS last year without much effort the west and north of Iraq, including the second city of the country Mosul, overrun. IS received local support from sunnis in Iraq. The capital of the province of al-Anbar, Ramadi, a predominantly sunni city. IS is originally from Iraq. The group is mainly an invention of former sunni soldiers who served under dictator Saddam Hussein (1937-2006).