BAGHDAD (AFP) -
Iraqi forces have launched a broad offensive to retake the city of Hit from the Islamic State group in the western province of Anbar, a top commander said Saturday.
Led by the elite Counter-Terrorism Service, forces from the police, army and local tribal fighters were making a final push to retake Hit, 145 kilometres (90 miles) west of Baghdad.
"They have begun a broad operation to liberate Hit and Kubaysa," Major General Ali Ibrahim Daboun, the head of the Al-Jazeera Operations Command, told AFP.
Kubaysa is a smaller town a few miles west of Hit, which the jihadists have controlled since October 2014.
Daboun said Iraqi aircraft and jets from the US-led international coalition were providing air support.
Al-Asad military air base, which houses a large contingent of US and other foreign military advisers, lies around 35 kilometres northwest of Hit.
After launching a final push against IS in provincial capital Ramadi late last year, Iraq's security forces established full control over the city last month.
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http://www.france24.com/en/20160319-iraq-forces-major-push-against-anbar
