Iraq forces retake western town of Rutba from Islamic State

PanARMENIAN.Net - Iraqi government forces have regained control of a remote western town from the jihadist group Islamic State (IS), Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi says, according to Reuters.

Abadi announced that counter-terrorism troops, backed by tribesmen and U.S.-led coalition air strikes, had raised the Iraqi flag in central Rutba.

Coalition spokesman Col Steve Warren said the small town, on the road to Jordan, had "outsized strategic value".

Some 200 militants who were based there put up little resistance, he added.

"A lot of the enemy, frankly, ran away when they saw this force coming."

Col Warren said the fall of Rutba will have an impact on the economies of both Iraq and Jordan, and also deny IS "a critical support zone".

The town, which is also near a key IS-controlled border crossing with Syria, was used by militants to stage operations further north and east in Iraq.

The recapture of Rutba, 360km (225 miles) west of the capital Baghdad, is the latest victory for Iraqi government forces in the Sunni-dominated province of Anbar.

Troops and allied Sunni tribal fighters last month retook the town of Hit and in February declared that the provincial capital Ramadi had been fully liberated.