Iraqi forces claim gains in fight for Ramadi

The Iraqi offensive aimed at retaking Ramadi appeared to gain traction Sunday as leaders claimed to take control of Anbar University on the southern edge of the city controlled by the Islamic State.

The Iraqi offensive has been muted somewhat by efforts to minimize civilian casualties, but officials said the university fell to government troops after hours of fierce fighting.

"We announce to you the entry of the counterterrorism forces into the University of Anbar," the Iraqi government said in a statement broadcast on state television. "They are now engaging in battles to clean it up from the remains of IS and dismantling bombs and clearing roads."

Iraqi Brig. Gen. Abdul Amir al-Khazraji, deputy commander of anti-terrorism operations, announced Saturday that 15 militant fighters were killed in clashes near the university. On Sunday, Athal al-Fahdawi, a provincial councilman, told the Associated Press that Iraqi troops are in full control of the the complex.

Iraqi forces have been waging a slow but determined effort to retake Ramadi, which fell to the Islamic State militants in May. To limit civilian deaths, the military said it has been trying to methodically squeeze militants from the outskirts instead of launching a massive assault into the heart of the Sunni city, which had a population of 400,000 before most residents fled.

“The urban terrain battles are among the most difficult,” Brig. Gen. Yahea Resool, a spokesman for Iraq’s Defense Ministry, said last week. “We are not in a hurry.”

The U.S.-led coalition supporting the Iraqis with airstrikes estimated 250 to 300 militants remain holed up in Ramadi. They face 10,000 troops that include army and counterterrorism units, Shiite militias and national police. But authorities fear militants will use civilians who have not fled the city as human shields, he said.

Ramadi is less than 100 miles from Baghdad. Ramadi is the first major urban battle that Iraqi forces have faced since the Islamic State seized a swath of the nation last year. Iraq’s security forces took back the city of Tikrit in in April, but it is much smaller than Ramadi and few civilians remained at the time.

U.S. advisers are deeply involved in planning the campaign and preparing Iraqi troops. Several hundred U.S. Marines and other coalition advisers were recently sent to Taqaddum, the Iraqi headquarters for the offensive. U.S. forces have trained 9,700 Iraqi troops, including some units deployed for the Ramadi campaign.