the iraqi military announced a huge step forward in its fight to recapture the city of ramadi from isis. they say they ve pushed the terrorists out of a key government complex in the heart of the city. right now security forces are advancing slowly. they re concerned about explosives and booby traps isis may have left behind, but the commanders say they l have ramadi firmly in their control within a few days. the provincial capital sits about 110 kilometers west of baghdad. it fell to isis this past may. for more, we want to turn to robin ceil. she joins me live from london. robin, do we know what the situation is on the ground right now, how much progress has been made by the iraqi forces? well, this assault began in earnest on tuesday, and they
city s center. ramadi fell to isis several months ago. they are advancing slowly because they believe isis set up traps. they expect to have full control of the entire city in a few days. translator: we will declare the victory soon. by the golden brigade and the special forces, god willing. we will announce happy news to the people of anbar, those who were displaced from their own town and lived in tents. god willing, they will be able to return to their place soon. and for more, we want to go to robin ceil. she joins us live from london. robin, as we saw, the progress has been a little slow at this point, because of the possibility of booby trap and explosives, but this is significant, nonetheless, isn t it? hugely significant, rosemary.
coming. and, robin, we re seeing the stronger iraqi forces. are we looking at a game changer here? yes. you re looking at the counterterrorism force elite force that s been trained by the united states. you re also looking at a really cooperation that hasn t been seen in use before between various militias as well as the iraqi army, and of course, u.s. led air strikes overhead which has been pounding isis command centers. they were initially supposed to be 300 to 500 isis militants in the city. and they believe a number of them have fled, although a number have been killed as well. a game changer, yes. if ramadi is successfully recaptured and it is by no mean over. there are still pockets of resistance throughout the city, not only at this government
changer. the next stop will be mosul which is also a critical city, perhaps more than ramadi. it s important because it s the capital, the heartland of sunni in iraq. it s the capital of anbar province. it s so close to baghdad, within striking distance. if they manage to take the city, to recapture it from the isis militants, it s a legitimate chance for the iraqi government to govern the entire country. and it will likely mean isis is weakening. thank you, robin, joining us live from london. general mark hurtling joins me now from orlando, florida. thank you for being with us. i wanted to ask you how significant you think these gains being made by iraqi forces are. what could this mean in the fight against isis going forward? yeah. there are two things to consider, rosemary. first of all, this was a
incredible opportunity for the pope who is such a believer of working with the people of smelling the sheep, that was in one of his first things, that pastors should go out and smell the sheep and interact with people from all walks of life, and they are going to speak to the pope about putting more emphasis on poverty and bringing more resources, definitely, into kenya s slums, or juuganda suffs from similar situations. people certainly ban together, but it s a place that could take all the hope it can get. robin live with the pope coverage. just ahead here on cnn newsroom, a new app from the world food program gives you an easy way to share a meal with a