BAGHDAD, July 13 (UPI) -- A massive military operation aimed at retaking Iraq's Anbar province, lost two months ago to the Islamic State, began Monday, Iraqi state television announced.
Early morning raids were conducted on unspecified locations, beginning with an offensive by a 10,000-man coalition of the volunteer army Hashd al-Shaabi, the Iraqi military, the federal police, Shiite militias and local Sunni tribes. The capital of the province, Ramadi, was conquered by the Islamic State (IS) in May; in a long battle, the city of Tikrit was reclaimed, largely by the Hashd, earlier this year.