BAGHDAD — Iraqi forces regained ground from the Daesh militants in western Iraq on Sunday, advancing towards the city of Ramadi one week after it fell to the insurgents. A police major and a pro-government Sunni tribal fighter in the area said they had retaken the town of Husaiba Al-Sharqiya, about 10 km east of Ramadi. Shiite militias, Iraqi security forces and pro-government Sunni tribal fighters launched a counter-offensive on Saturday against the insurgents, who have pushed east towards a key military base after overruning Ramadi. “Today we regained control over Husaiba and are laying plans to make more advances to push back Daesh fighters further,” said local tribal leader Amir Al-Fahdawi. “The morale of the fighters is high after the arrival of reinforcements and loads of ammunition.” Planes were bombing Daesh positions on the opposite bank of the Euphrates river, where the militants were launching mortars and sniper fire to prevent the pro-government forces advancing, Fahdawi and the police major said. The fall of Ramadi last Sunday was the biggest setback for Iraqi forces in almost a year and has cast doubt on the effectiveness of the US-led strategy for fighting the Sunni militant group. A US-led coalition is bombing Daesh positions from the air after the group seized swathes of Iraq and Syria and proclaimed a caliphate last year to rule over all Muslims. Iraqi government forces and Iran-backed Shi'ite militia advanced against the Sunni militants north of Baghdad in the Tigris river valley earlier this year, recapturing former dictator Saddam Hussein's home city of Tikrit. But the insurgents responded by going on the offensive west of Baghdad in the valley of Iraq's other great river, the Euphrates. — Reuters
