BAGHDAD: Iraq on Tuesday announced the launch of a major military operation to drive the IS from the Anbar province and retake the Sunni heartland where the extremist group captured the provincial capital, Ramadi, earlier this month.

The operation is backed by Shiite militias and Sunni pro-government fighters, the Iraqi state TV reported, without providing further details. There was no indication of any immediate movements on the ground following the announcement. The Islamic State seized large parts of Anbar in early 2014 and captured Ramadi earlier in May — a fall that marked a major defeat for Iraqi forces, which had been making steady progress against the extremists over the past months with the help of US-led airstrikes.

A spokesman for Iraq’s Shiite militias said Tuesday the operation would “not last for a long time” and that Iraqi forces have surrounded Ramadi from three sides.

New weapons are being used in the battle “that will surprise the enemy,” Ahmed Assadi, who is also a member of Parliament, told reporters. He added there was also another operation underway, north of the nearby province of Salahuddin.

According to plans, forces fighting in Salahuddin would surround Ramadi from its northeastern side, he added. The Anbar operation aims at cutting off supply routes and recapturing the outskirts of Ramadi first — not the city itself, according to provincial councilman Faleh Al-Issawi and tribesman Rafie Al-Fahdawi.

The two told The Associated Press that there was ongoing fighting and airstrikes west and south of Ramadi on Tuesday, adding that more Sunni fighters will be armed starting from Wednesday to join the battle.

Security forces and Sunni militiamen who had been battling the extremists in Ramadi for months collapsed as IS fighters overran the city earlier this month.