Iraqi military launch offensive on last Islamic State stronghold – reports

Iraqi forces have reportedly launched an offensive to capture the last town under Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) control – the town of Rawa. It is located on the north bank of the Euphrates River, 70 miles west of Baghdad, close to the Syrian border. “Military units and people’s militia launched a large-scale operation to liberate the district of Rumana and the city of Rawa,” an Iraqi military commander said in a statement on Saturday, as cited by RIA Novosti. On Thursday, the Syrian Army liberated the city of Abu Kamal, near the border with Iraq, destroying the last IS stronghold in Syria. Abu Kamal’s fall signaled the end of IS as a terrorist group, Syrian Army commanders said.