The Islamic State group on Sunday pulled its fighters out of Rutba, a
desert town in the western Iraqi province of Anbar, an army general and
the mayor said. The pullout, if confirmed, would be a rare case of the jihadists abandoning a position under no massive military pressure and suggests a manpower crisis in the organisation.
"Daesh (ISIS) has completely pulled out of Rutba and gone towards Al-Qaim," a major general told AFP, referring to a jihadist bastion on the border with Syria, further north in Anbar.
"Daesh's armed men started pulling out last night and completed their withdrawal this morning," the senior officer said, speaking on condition of anonymity. "Rutba is now free of Daesh."
The mayor of the isolated town, which lies about 390km west of Baghdad on the road to Jordan, confirmed that ISIS had withdrawn. "Daesh has pulled out. They have no armed men there now," Imad Ahmed said.
"This withdrawal looks real, a consequence of their losses in Anbar, notably the retaking by the security forces of Ramadi, of areas east of Ramadi and the progress towards Hit," he said.
After launching a final push against ISIS in the provincial capital Ramadi late last year, Iraq's security forces established full control over the city last month.
They have since been securing areas east of Ramadi, further isolating the jihadist stronghold of Fallujah, which lies only 50km west of Baghdad.
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