Iraqi leader visits Ramadi to showcase gains on Islamic State

BAGHDAD — Iraq’s prime minister toured the outskirts of Ramadi on Tuesday in a rare battlefield visit seeking to showcase military gains as government forces attempt to push the Islamic State from its last footholds in the city.

Iraqi units — backed by U.S.-led air strikes — have retaken key sites in Ramadi this week, including the main government compound, during an offensive that seeks to deal a major blow to the militants just 80 miles west of Baghdad.

In an effort to project confidence and bolster his own standing, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi made a high-profile visit noted by state TV and al-Abadi’s social media handlers.

Al-Abadi, who arrived by helicopter, had praised Iraqi forces on Monday for “defeating” the Islamic State in Ramadi, and pledged to bring the fight against the militants to their main Iraqi stronghold, Mosul, the largest city in northern Iraq.

In Baghdad, meanwhile, Iraq’s Interior Ministry announced that air strikes on Monday killed several top Islamic State fighters, including three Russian recruits and a senior figure from Saddam Hussein’s former Republican Guard.