Iraqi forces backed by the U.S.-led coalition retook on Friday the last town in the country that was held by the Islamic State group, more than three years after the militants stormed nearly a third of Iraq's territory, the Defense Ministry said.
In this Tuesday, July 22, 2014, file photo, a sign is posted at a checkpoint belonging to the Islamic State group, captured from the Iraqi Army, at the main entrance of Rawah, 175 miles (281 kilometers) northwest of Baghdad, Iraq. Arabic reads, "Islamic State, the Emirate of Anbar, City of Rawah." (AP Photo, File)
At dawn, military units and local tribal fighters pushed into the western neighborhoods of Rawah in western Anbar province, and after just five hours of fighting they retook the town, according to Brig. Gen. Yahya Rasool, the ministry's spokesman.
Iraq's Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi congratulated his forces on retaking Rawah. In a statement released on Friday afternoon, Al-Abadi said Iraqi forces liberated Rawah in record time and were continuing operations to retake control of Iraq's western desert and the border area with Syria.
This Tuesday, July 22, 2014 file photo shows a motorist passing by a flag of the Islamic State group in central Rawah, 175 miles (281 kilometers) northwest of Baghdad, Iraq. (AP Photo, File)
Rawah, 175 miles (275 kilometers) northwest of Baghdad, lies along the Euphrates River Valley near the border town of Qaim that Iraqi forces retook from IS earlier this month.
U.S.-led coalition forces supported the operations to retake Rawah and Qaim with intelligence, airstrikes and advisers, coalition spokesman Ryan Dillon said.
IS blitzed across Iraq's north and west in the summer of 2014, capturing Iraq's second-largest city of Mosul and advancing to the edges of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad. Later that year the United States began a campaign of airstrikes against the militants that fueled Iraqi territorial gains, allowing the military to retake Mosul in July this year.
All that now remains of IS-held Iraq are patches of rural territory in the country's vast western desert along the border with Syria.
IS has steadily been losing ground across the border in Syria as well where its so-called "caliphate" has basically crumbled with the loss of the city of Raqqa, the former Islamic State group's capital, which fell to the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces in October.
Both the U.S. and Russia have embedded special forces with their respective partners and are supporting their advances with airstrikes. Russia backs Syrian government forces of President Bashar Assad.
The last urban areas controlled by the militants in Syria are parts of the border town of Boukamal and a patch of territory near the capital, Damascus, and in central Hama province.
Syrian government forces, backed by Russian troops and Iranian-backed militias, originally pushed IS out of Boukamal earlier this month, but the militants retook a large part of the town, mostly its northern neighborhoods days later. Since then, IS has repelled government forces trying to push back into the town.
Meanwhile, U.S.-backed Kurdish-led forces are also approaching Boukamal from the eastern side of the Euphrates.
Despite IS' significant territorial losses, the group's media arm remains intact, allowing it to still recruit supporters and inspire new attacks. Iraqi and American officials say IS militants are expected to continue carrying out insurgent-style attacks in Syria, Iraq and beyond.
LONDON (AP) — It was nice while it lasted.
An environmentally themed mural by elusive street artist Banksy that appeared last week on a London street has been encased in plastic and surrounded by fencing after an apparent act of vandalism.
The work is on a four-story wall near a public housing project. Beside a real and severely pruned cherry tree, the artist stenciled a small figure holding a pressure hose. Swathes of green paint across the wall stand in for the tree's absent leaves.
The work quickly attracted crowds including Banksy fans from around the world. Two days later, it was splashed with white paint.
The mural was then covered in transparent plastic by the building's owner, and a sign appeared saying the area was under video surveillance.
On Wednesday, workers began to erect wooden boards around the site.
The local authority, Islington Council, said it was fencing off the site to protect the art and residents from the impact of visitors.
People look at a new Banksy painting on a wall in London, Monday, March 18, 2024. A new Banksy mural drew crowds to a London street on Monday, even before the elusive graffiti artist confirmed that the work was his. The artwork in the Finsbury Park neighborhood covers the wall of a four-story building and shows a small figure holding a pressure hose beside a real tree. Green paint has been sprayed across the wall, replicating the absent leaves of the tree, which has been severely cropped. Banksy claimed the work by posting before and after photos of the location on his official Instagram account.(AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
“We’ve had a lot of concerns from our residents about disruption from the numbers of visitors to the artwork, which is right outside their homes,” the council said in a statement. It said the fencing would include clear plastic panels "to protect the artwork and allow clear views.”
Banksy, who has never confirmed his full identity, began his career spray-painting buildings in Bristol, England, and has become one of the world’s best-known artists.
His work has sold for millions of dollars at auction, and past murals on outdoor sites have often been stolen or removed by building owners soon after going up. In December, after Banksy stenciled military drones on a stop sign in south London, a man was photographed taking down the sign with bolt cutters. Police later arrested two men on suspicion of theft and criminal damage.
The latest work would be harder to take down since the piece relies on the tree for its impact.
Islington Council said it would monitor the site and "continue to explore future solutions with the building owner so people can enjoy the artwork.”
A new Banksy painting is seen on the wall of a building in London, Monday, March 18, 2024. A new Banksy mural drew crowds to a London street on Monday, even before the elusive graffiti artist confirmed that the work was his. The artwork in the Finsbury Park neighborhood covers the wall of a four-story building and shows a small figure holding a pressure hose beside a real tree. Green paint has been sprayed across the wall, replicating the absent leaves of the tree, which has been severely cropped. Banksy claimed the work by posting before and after photos of the location on his official Instagram account.(AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
People look at a new Banksy painting on a wall in London, Monday, March 18, 2024. A new Banksy mural drew crowds to a London street on Monday, even before the elusive graffiti artist confirmed that the work was his. The artwork in the Finsbury Park neighborhood covers the wall of a four-story building and shows a small figure holding a pressure hose beside a real tree. Green paint has been sprayed across the wall, replicating the absent leaves of the tree, which has been severely cropped. Banksy claimed the work by posting before and after photos of the location on his official Instagram account.(AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
Boarding is put up next to the Banksy artwork on the side of a residential building in Hornsey Road, north London, Wednesday March 27, 2024 which has been covered in perspex sheeting for protection. An environmentally themed mural in London by street artist Banksy has been encased in plastic and surrounded by fencing after an apparent act of vandalism. (Aaron Chown/PA via AP)
Boarding is put up next to the Banksy artwork on the side of a residential building in Hornsey Road, north London, Wednesday March 27, 2024 which has been covered in perspex sheeting for protection. An environmentally themed mural in London by street artist Banksy has been encased in plastic and surrounded by fencing after an apparent act of vandalism. (Aaron Chown/PA via AP)
