The Iraq army on Sunday announced the defeat of Islamic State fighters in Ramadi, a provincial capital west of Baghdad. The militant group had captured the city in May this year, one of their biggest wins in the country so far. Iraq military and the United States revised strategies and relaunched a campaign to get the city back last week, Reuters reported. The army made a push to take over the central administration complex on Sunday. Sabah al-Numani, a spokesman for the government's forces, said controlling the complex would mean defeating IS in Ramadi, after which smaller pockets of the city will begin to get cleared.

Officials said most civilians had been evacuated from the area, and did not provide death tolls. Local leaders have called on the Iraq government to begin rebuilding the city as soon as possible. The city will be handed over to local police and trained Sunni tribal forces. After the win in Ramadi, forces will look at regaining control over the city of Mosul, which is the largest population centre controlled by IS forces in Iraq and Syria.