Iraq moves on IS

BAGHDAD: Iraq’s military said yesterday its forces had advanced on three fronts to begin clearing Islamic State militants from the city of Ramadi, but police and the government said progress was slow.

The announcement came as Kurdish forces declared victory over the IS in the northern town of Sinjar, which could help build momentum in pushing back hardline Sunni militants elsewhere.

But a suicide bomb in Baghdad and a second day of violence between Kurds and Shia Turkmen further north were reminders of the ethnic and sectarian conflicts.