of Ramadi, which it embarassingly lost in May

Iraqi forces now have hopes of securing the whole of the


ISIS have left the government complex in Ramadi, the last stronghold of the militants in the Iraqi city, after days of fighting Iraqi special forces.

All ISIS fighters have reportedly retreated from the compound, raising hope that government forces will be able to retake the city, which was captured by the jihadist group in May.

Recapturing Ramadi, the provincial capital of Anbar, would be one of the most significant victories for Iraq's armed forces since ISIS swept across a third of the country in 2014.

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One soldiers glances nervously through a heavily damaged room inside Ramadi following several weeks of prolonged fighting

Iraqi forces remain on high alert after capturing ground in Ramadi following fears of hidden explosive devices concealed in the buildings

'All Daesh (ISIS) fighters have left. There is no resistance,' Sabah al-Numan, spokesman of Iraq's elite counter-terrorism service, said Sunday.

'Our forces have surrounded the government complex. They are checking all entrances and surrounding buildings before moving in.

'We're seeing lots of Daesh bodies, killed in the air strikes on the compound,'

'The operation is almost wrapped up. Our forces will enter in the coming hours,' Numan added.

An Iraqi soldiers makes the V for victory sign with his fingers upon entering the heart of the city of Ramadi, Iraq

Dancing for joy, members of the Iraqi security forces show their delight at taking great swathes of the city

Despite their success in re-capturing Ramadi, Iraqi troops remain on high alert over fears of secondary attacks

Much of the city remains eerily quiet, leading to concerns that ISIS militants may have left behind concealed explosive devices

Iraqi forces, pictured in el-Hoz neighborhood of Ramadi, Iraq on Saturday, are now one step closer to retaking Ramadi, after all of ISIS's fighters fled the government complex - their last stronghold in the city

Iraqi forces patrol through one neighbourhood after reports ISIS fighters may have pulled out from the key government complex in the centre of the city

Retaking Ramadi: Iraqi forces backed by US-led coalition air strikes had punched into the city centre on Tuesday, with the fighting over the past two days concentrated around the former government complex

Members of Iraq's elite counter-terrorism service stand by for orders in the Hoz neighbourhood of Ramadi

On their way out in withdrawing from Ramadi, ISIS forces destroyed much of the city's basic infrastructure

Iraqi forces backed by US-led coalition air strikes had punched into the city centre on Tuesday,with the fighting over the past two days concentrated around the former government complex.

ISIS fighters had been defending defended with snipers, suicide car bomb attacks and hundreds of roadside bombs and booby traps.

The advance by the government forces had also been hampered by the possible presence of dozens of families trapped in the combat zone and used by IS as human shields.

Shi'ite militias backed by Iran, which have played a major role in other offensive against ISIS, have been kept away by the Iraqi government from the battlefield in Ramadi to avoid sectarian tensions.

One fighter waves the familiar colours of the Iraqi national flag inside the city of Ramadi

Iraqi forces are seen as the operation aiming to re-seize the Ramadi from Daesh terrorist continue in el-Hoz neighborhood of Ramadi, Iraq on Boxing Day

Trail of destruction: The remains of a broken bridge after it was destroyed by retreating ISIS forces

Retreating: Smoke rises from ISIS positions following a U.S.-led coalition airstrike as Iraqi Security forces advance their position in downtown Ramadi

If the offensive in Ramadi succeeds, it will be the second main city to be retaken from Islamic State after Tikrit, in April. Officials said it would be handed over to the local police and to a Sunni tribal force once secured.

After Ramadi, the army plans to move to retake the northern city of Mosul, the biggest population centre under Islamic State control in Iraq and Syria.