IN BRIEF (Page 12)

Iraq

Troops expected to drive IS from Ramadi

Government forces expect to dislodge Islamic State militants from the western Iraqi city of Ramadi within days, state television said on Wednesday, citing army chief of staff Othman al-Ghanemi. If Ramadi is captured, it will be the second major city after Tikrit to be retaken from Islamic State in Iraq. It would provide a major psychological boost to Iraqi security forces after the militant group seized a third of Iraq, a major OPEC oil producer and US ally, last year.