Interesting

Iraqi security forces on Sunday claimed control of a key government facility in central Ramadi, wresting more territory in the disputed city from Islamic State fighters after several days of fierce fighting.

In Syria, U.S.-backed fighters took control of a key dam, severing a supply line between Raqqa, the Islamic State's self-proclaimed capital, and militant fighters on the Turkish border.

"We have besieged the complex from all the directions," said Col. Mohammed Ibrahim, an Iraqi military spokesman. "The area is in our hands. No militants are inside it. All of them fled or were killed."

Speaker of Parliament Salim al Jubouri hailed the "big victory" over the Islamic State and said "the liberation of Ramadi broke the spine" of the militants and would be "the beginning of the liberation of Mosul."

"It's been a great operational day," Army Col. Steve Warren, the top spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition against the Islamic State, also known as ISIL or ISIS. "We're hitting them with combination punches now. They're getting hit in multiple places simultaneously. That said, the war's not over. There's plenty of fighting left to be done. But we're seeing good signs."