BAGHDAD, Nov. 17 -- Iraqi security forces battling Islamic State (IS) militants freed Friday the city of Rawa near the border with Syria, dislodging the extremist militants from their last urban stronghold in Iraq, the Iraqi military said.
The troops and the paramilitary local tribal fighters fully liberated Rawa and raised the Iraqi flag on some of its buildings, Lt. Gen. Abdul Amir Yarallah, the commander of the offensive, said in a brief statement.
At dawn, the Iraqi forces pushed into Rawa from three directions and liberated four neighborhoods in the western part of the city, Yarallah said in an earlier statement.
Meanwhile, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi congratulated the people of Iraq and the security forces on the liberation of Rawa, which is located some 80 km east of the newly-freed city of al-Qaim.
Abadi, also the commander-in-chief of the Iraqi forces, made his comments during a visit to the Joint Operations Command headquarters in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, according to a statement issued by Abadi's office.
"The liberation of Rawa within hours reflects the great strength and power of our heroic armed forces and the successful planning for battles," Abadi said.
He also said the Iraqi forces are continuing clearing the rural area and the nearby desert to secure the Iraqi border with Syria.
On Nov. 5, Abadi raised the Iraqi flag on Husaibah border crossing with Syria two days after the Iraqi forces recaptured it and the nearby city of al-Qaim from the extremist militants.
The troops will continue to clear the villages in the vast rural areas in the north of the Euphrates River as well as the desert between the provinces of Anbar and neighboring Salahudin.
On Oct. 26, security forces started a major offensive to free last IS urban stronghold in Iraq near the Iraqi-Syrian border.
The IS militants seized large swathes of territory in Iraq in 2017. After three years of battles, the Iraqi forces have retaken most of the occupied areas from the terrorist group, including the country's second largest city Mosul.