Ramadi

ISIS terrorists have placed booby traps across the city of Mosul, dug tunnels and recruited children as spies in anticipation of an offensive to dislodge the terrorists from their Iraqi stronghold, Iraqis and US officials said.

A British citizen has been killed in Iraq trying to defuse a bomb left by the ISIS terrorist group, according to UK media reports.

ISIS fighters inside the terrorist group's Iraqi stronghold of Mosul are "weakening" and showing signs of frustration ahead of a battle to recapture the city, a US military official said on Wednesday.

A US de-mining company is removing explosives and training Iraqis to dismantle the devices planted by ISIS in the largest Iraqi city retaken from the militants, a diplomat and two US officials said on Monday.

Iraq said today that its forces have completely retaken areas surrounding Ramadi from the ISIS and reopened the road linking the city to Baghdad.

Iraqi forces have found more than 40 bodies, including those of women and children, in a mass grave in the city of Ramadi west of Baghdad, which they recently retook from ISIS militants, officials said.

The United States and its allies conducted 19 strikes against ISIS on Thursday, including two in Syria and 17 in Iraq, the coalition leading the operations said.

A much anticipated campaign to recapture Iraq's northern city of Mosul from ISIS is unlikely to happen this year, the Kurdistan region's deputy prime minister said, dampening hopes the militants could be driven from the country in 2016.

ISIS militants left Ramadi's streets and buildings booby-trapped with bombs, hampering efforts to rebuild the city two weeks after Iraq's elite counter-terrorism forces claimed victory against the militant group there, officials said.

Two weeks after declaring victory over ISIS in Ramadi, Iraq's elite counter-terrorism forces have pushed militants out to its eastern suburbs, but bombs littering the streets are holding up efforts to rebuild the city, officials said.

More than 60 per cent of sorties against ISIS in Iraq are carried out by the nation's air forces and about 40 per cent by the US-led coalition, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said on Saturday.

Residents of the Iraqi city of Ramadi who escaped the recent battle there are describing the horrors of life under the Islamic State and their relief at being rescued by the Iraqi army when it recaptured most of the city earlier this week.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon offered Wednesday to help Iraq restore basic services to Ramadi and allow refugees to quickly return to the city after it was recaptured from jihadists.

US-led forces have killed 10 ISIS leaders in air strikes, including individuals linked to the Paris attacks, a US spokesman said, dealing a double blow to the militant group after Iraqi forces ousted it from the city of Ramadi.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi planted the national flag in Ramadi on Tuesday after the army retook the city centre from Islamic State a day earlier, a victory that could help vindicate his strategy for rebuilding the military after stunning defeats.

ISIS terrorists have placed booby traps across the city of Mosul, dug tunnels and recruited children as spies in anticipation of an offensive to dislodge the terrorists from their Iraqi stronghold, Iraqis and US officials said.

A British citizen has been killed in Iraq trying to defuse a bomb left by the ISIS terrorist group, according to UK media reports.

ISIS fighters inside the terrorist group's Iraqi stronghold of Mosul are "weakening" and showing signs of frustration ahead of a battle to recapture the city, a US military official said on Wednesday.

A US de-mining company is removing explosives and training Iraqis to dismantle the devices planted by ISIS in the largest Iraqi city retaken from the militants, a diplomat and two US officials said on Monday.

Iraq said today that its forces have completely retaken areas surrounding Ramadi from the ISIS and reopened the road linking the city to Baghdad.

Iraqi forces have found more than 40 bodies, including those of women and children, in a mass grave in the city of Ramadi west of Baghdad, which they recently retook from ISIS militants, officials said.

The United States and its allies conducted 19 strikes against ISIS on Thursday, including two in Syria and 17 in Iraq, the coalition leading the operations said.

A much anticipated campaign to recapture Iraq's northern city of Mosul from ISIS is unlikely to happen this year, the Kurdistan region's deputy prime minister said, dampening hopes the militants could be driven from the country in 2016.

ISIS militants left Ramadi's streets and buildings booby-trapped with bombs, hampering efforts to rebuild the city two weeks after Iraq's elite counter-terrorism forces claimed victory against the militant group there, officials said.

Two weeks after declaring victory over ISIS in Ramadi, Iraq's elite counter-terrorism forces have pushed militants out to its eastern suburbs, but bombs littering the streets are holding up efforts to rebuild the city, officials said.

More than 60 per cent of sorties against ISIS in Iraq are carried out by the nation's air forces and about 40 per cent by the US-led coalition, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said on Saturday.

Residents of the Iraqi city of Ramadi who escaped the recent battle there are describing the horrors of life under the Islamic State and their relief at being rescued by the Iraqi army when it recaptured most of the city earlier this week.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon offered Wednesday to help Iraq restore basic services to Ramadi and allow refugees to quickly return to the city after it was recaptured from jihadists.

US-led forces have killed 10 ISIS leaders in air strikes, including individuals linked to the Paris attacks, a US spokesman said, dealing a double blow to the militant group after Iraqi forces ousted it from the city of Ramadi.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi planted the national flag in Ramadi on Tuesday after the army retook the city centre from Islamic State a day earlier, a victory that could help vindicate his strategy for rebuilding the military after stunning defeats.