Shia militia deploy from base near Iraq's Ramadi

A convoy of Shia militia fighters and Iraqi army forces set out from a base near the western provincial capital of Ramadi on Saturday, heading towards areas controlled by Islamic State militants, an eyewitness and a local official said.

Anbar provincial council member Azzal Obaid said hundreds of fighters, who arrived at the Habbaniya air base last week after Ramadi was overrun by Islamic State, were in Khalidiya and were approaching Siddiqiya and Madiq, towns in contested areas near Ramadi.

While pro-government forces are seeking to retake Ramadi, Islamic State insurgents have been pushing forward in the direction of Fallujah in a bid to take more territory in Anbar province that would bring them closer to the Iraqi capital Baghdad.