The Anbar campaign (2015–2016) was a military campaign launched by the Iraqi Armed Forces and their allies aimed at recapturing areas of the Anbar Governorate held by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), including the city of Ramadi, which ISIL seized earlier in 2015. The United States and other nations aided Iraq with airstrikes.
Background
On May 17, 2015, ISIL captured the city of Ramadi, after launching an assault which included mortars, rockets, multiple waves of suicide attacks with vehicles, and other indirect fire during a sandstorm. This heavy pressure killed an estimated 500, and caused Iraqi forces to retreat from the city.
Reacting to the setback, the Iraqi government publicly announced an operation to retake Anbar province. On 26 May 2015, it launched a coordinated offensive combining army units, paramilitary forces (including the mainly‐Shiite Hashd al‑Shaabi), Sunni tribal fighters and local police to reclaim lost ground. Thus the Anbar campaign officially commenced in 2015.
The offensive Initial assault On the dawn of July 13, the Iraqi Army, backed by the Shiite and Sunni pro-government militias, launched an assault on several fronts in Anbar, including on Ramadi. According to the police sources in the province, the Iraqi forces pushed towards Ramadi from the west and the south. According to ISIL supporters, the advances of the Iraqi forces were repelled by militants. By the afternoon, the Iraqi Army retook the Ramadi Olympic stadium in western Ramadi and reached the eastern part of the city. According to Iraqi officials, pro-government fighters also pushed the extremists from the areas east of Ramadi. On July 20, the Olympic stadium was destroyed by ISIL militants with remotely detonated explosives. According to military officials said that there may have been number of Shiite militia fighters may have been inside the stadium at the time of its destruction, but they did not offer casualty figures. On July 23, Iraqi government announced that it had deployed United States-trained Iraqi troops for the first time to retake Ramadi. The Shiite militia commanders said that currently the initial main focus was on retaking Fallujah rather than Ramadi and the Iraqi government indicated that will not be used to liberate Ramadi. On July 26, pro-government forces took back the complete control of University of Anbar from ISIL fighters. It was retaken by forces from Iraq's Counter Terrorism Services with support from the Iraqi army and air support from the international coalition and Iraqi aircraft. On July 29, 12 Iraqi soldiers were killed when ISIL suicide attackers rammed 2 explosive-laden Humvees into forces deployed outside the university's compound.
On August 11, a senior official with the US-led Coalition said that Iraqi forces had surrounded the city and were preparing for a final assault to retake it. On August 23, 23 Iraqi soldiers including 17 Iraqi military soldiers and 6 allied Sunni fighters were killed by ISIL in an attack that involved the use of suicide bombers and artillery.IS Attack in Anbar Kills 23 On August 25, Iraqi forces repelled an ISIL suicide attack west of Ramadi by destroying three booby-trapped vehicles and killing everyone inside them. On August 27, 2 Iraqi army generals and 3 soldiers were killed in a suicide attack while 10 other soldiers were wounded. On September 10, an airstrike by the US-led coalition destroyed an ISIL operating base and staging area in a stadium near Ramadi. On September 15, it was reported that a force of 160 US troops had arrived at Habbaniyah air base and were expected to help the Iraqi army retake Ramadi. The unconfirmed reports also claimed that USA agreed to take part in ground combat against ISIL if the Popular Front forces withdrew from Anbar. However, these reports were dismissed by an Iraqi army spokesman who said that the US troops at the air base were there to simply provide military advice and coordinate raids against ISIL targets. Popular Front spokesman Karim Al-Nouri also dismissed these reports saying that the Popular Front militia was still deployed in Anbar.
Offensive stalls By late September, the operation to retake Ramadi was considered to have stalled, with Iraqi security forces positioned on the outskirts of Ramadi, but unable to mount an incursion into the city. Political squabbles between Iranian backed militias and the Abadi administration were also hampering potential offensives. On September 25, the United States urged the Iraqi Army to hasten the operation, acknowledging that "...the Iraqis have not made any significant forward movement recently".
Renewed operations On October 7, Iraqi forces renewed their operations in Ramadi, capturing several areas to the north and west, including the main road west of Ramadi. By October 13, Iraqi troops had advanced 15 kilometers and encircled the city according to US officials. Further Iraqi military reinforcements including artillery batteries and tanks arrived in the nearby town of Khaldiyah on November 10, in preparation for another assault on Ramadi. Iraqi forces recaptured the emergency directorate headquarters in Ramadi on November 14.
Battle for Ramadi
On November 25, Iraqi forces launched the offensive to recapture Ramadi, cutting ISIL's last supply line into the city of Ramadi, via the Euphrates River, by seizing the strategic Palestine Bridge.
On December 8, Iraqi forces pushed into the city, and Iraqi forces captured Tamin, a key district in the south-western area of Ramadi. The Iraqi Army also recaptured the Anbar Operation Control Center, near the Palestine Bridge. On December 10, ISIL forces blew up the Warrar Dam, which linked the Anbar Operations Control Center to northwestern Ramadi city, leaving the Qassim Bridge as the last working bridge in Ramadi.
On December 22, Iraqi forces advanced into the center of the city of Ramadi, and headed towards the main government complex. The attack was launched from al-Tamim and al-Humaira Districts in the southwest and south, northwards on 3 axes into the central al-Hoz District, and the Andalus and al-Malab Districts further east. On December 27, the Iraqi Army captured the government complex, after which they declared victory in Ramadi, and claimed to be in full control of the city center. However, on the following day, it was confirmed ISIL was still in control of 30 percent of the city. On December 30, 2015, the Iraqi Prime Minister visited Ramadi and raised the Iraqi flag at the government complex. ISIL casualties during the battle were reportedly high, while Iraqi Army casualties were low.
On January 3, 2016, the Iraqi Government declared that it had recaptured 80% of Ramadi city, and that the only pockets of ISIL resistance remaining were located in the al-Malab and 20th Street areas of the city. On January 20, the city of Ramadi was reportedly cleared of ISIL forces, after over 6 months of fighting. Iraqi forces began moving eastward to Khalidiya Island, after clearing ISIL-held neighborhoods near the area. On January 21, US Vice President Joe Biden congratulated the Iraqi Security Forces for liberating the city of Ramadi from ISIL control, during a meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister al-Abadi.
On January 22, Iraqi forces fully entered the Sajjariyah District, and they also entered the ISIL-held areas in the Joabah and Husaiyah Districts, to the east of Ramadi. On January 23, ISIL launched suicide attacks in the Kilo 70 area west of Ramadi, and in the Tal Msheheidah east of Ramadi, as well as areas to the north of Ramadi; the ensuing clashes and airstrikes led to the deaths of 62 ISIL militants and 48 Iraqi fighters. On January 24, Iraqi Defense Minister said that the Iraqi Army was preparing for an offensive on Mosul, stating that the Iraqi Army and Coalition forces had defeated ISIL in Ramadi. Later on the same day, 190 people suspected of collaborating with ISIL were arrested in Ramadi, even as fighting shifted to the Husaiybah District, to the east of Ramadi. On January 26, the Iraqi Army found and destroyed the ISIL headquarters in eastern Ramadi, in the al-Sofiyah District, killing at least 6 ISIL militants.
During the next week, as the Iraqi Army closed in on the Sajjariyah District, the last area in Ramadi held by ISIL, ISIL launched multiple waves of suicide attacks in the Ramadi area, killing dozens of Iraqi soldiers. On February 4, 2016, the Iraqi Army recaptured the Sajjariyah District, fully expelling ISIL from Ramadi. The 2015–2016 Battle of Ramadi was the first time since the Fall of Mosul in which the Iraqi Army played the primary role in combating ISIL.
Khalidiya Island offensive On February 1, the Iraqi Army launched an offensive on the Khalidiya Island area, which is the region located between the villages Albu Nasir and Albu Shajal, situated between Ramadi and Fallujah. On the same day, the Iraqi Army managed to capture the villages of Albu Shalib and Albu Shajal, to the northwest of Fallujah. On February 2, the Iraqi Army fully severed the last supply lines between the Khalidiya Island region and the city of Fallujah, completely besieging the city. This led to concerns that an estimated 30,000 civilians trapped in Fallujah would starve, due to the lack of airdropped supplies into the city. On February 4, after Ramadi city was recaptured from ISIL, offensive operations shifted further eastward to the Khalidiya Island area.
On February 8, the Iraqi Army recaptured the Juwaybah District, to the east of Ramadi, east of the Sajjariyah District. On February 9, Iraqi forces entered the center of Husaiybah, the last ISIL-held village to the east of Ramadi. Later on the same day, the Iraqi Army fully recaptured the Husaiybah Al-Sharqiyah District, about 10 kilometers (6 miles) east of Ramadi, thus fully expelling ISIL from the environs of Ramadi. Dozens of ISIL militants were killed in the clashes in Husaiybah. The Iraqi Army also began evacuating 1,500 civilians from the Husaiybah Al-Sharqiyah District. Afterwards, the Iraqi Government reopened the Ramadi-Habbaniyah Highway. ISIL militants were still holed up in some farmlands in Khalidiya Island, to the north of the town of Al Khalidiya. On February 10, it was reported that the Iraqi Army had fully recaptured the Khalidiya District, including the Khalidiya Island area, but there was renewed fighting in Khalidiya Island area since March 2016.Anbar Operations start liberating Khalidiya Island, Iraqinews.com Because there was still resistance in the area, the army started a new offensive on May 25, 2016.Anbar Operations announces starting Khalidiya Island liberation operation, Iraqinews.com
On February 14, an Iraqi airstrike killed an ISIL commander in the Kartan area of the Khalidiya District, along with 14 other ISIL militants. Later on the same day, the Iraqi Government reported that the Sedikiyah area in the eastern Khalidiya District was ready for the return of displaced civilians, after IEDs left behind by ISIL in the area had been dismantled. On February 16, the Iraqi Army launched a clearing operation in the Hamidiyah District, to the northeast of Ramadi's Albu Ghanem District. On February 19, the Iraqi Army completely cleared the Hamidiyah District from ISIL forces, killing dozens of ISIL fighters. On February 21, the US-led Coalition bombed an ISIL gathering in Khalidiya Island, killing 7 ISIL leaders.
Siege of Fallujah
From February 15 to 19, the Iraqi Army launched an offensive into the town of Al-Karmah, to the northeast of Fallujah, killing dozens of ISIL militants.