Iraq's army hopes to soon take full control of the key city of Ramadi from self-described Islamic State militants.
As Van Nguyen reports, military operations are underway to retake Ramadi, west of the capital Baghdad, from IS forces.
Thousands of civilians fled Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province, when IS fighters took over the city in May.
It was the Iraqi government's biggest defeat since IS swept through areas in the country's north and west, including the second-largest city of Mosul last year.
In a bid to take back control of Ramadi, Iraqi counter-terrorism forces have stormed the city's centre, driving out the armed militants.
At the same time, the United States-led coalition is carrying out air strikes in the region, while specially trained troops have been moving on the ground in support of Iraqi efforts.
US Colonel Steve Warren says there is still a long road ahead.
"This enemy has had time to set up their defense inside of this city and it's going to be very difficult and it's going to be a very slow process with the Iraqis to slowly, methodically and carefully clear their way through the city."
US intelligence estimates that between 250 and 350 IS fighters remain in Ramadi.
Several hundred are thought to be stationed outside the city's northern and western perimeters.
Colonel Steve Warren credits the year-long US training of Iraqi security forces for the slow, but seemingly successful, advances against IS in Ramadi.
"We've begun a training program a year ago to train Iraqi forces to be able to take their country back and in the last several weeks, we've begun to see that happen. That training has started to take hold."
IS has lost control of several key towns in Iraq to government and Kurdish forces since over-running large swathes of the country's west and north in June 2014.
Iraqi forces controlled areas in Anbar province before the latest push into the centre of Ramadi.
If they regain full control, it will be the second major city after Tikrit to be retaken from IS, also known as ISIS.
Iraq's Ambassador to the US, Lukman Faily, says the information coming out of Ramadi is positive.
"We have a joyful day for us Iraqis. We are stepping in inch by inch retaking Ramadi which we lost back earlier in the year and we are more or less near the centre and we're making significant progress in making sure that we can sustain and minimise collatoral damage and get rid of ISIS (Islamic State) once and for all."
Islamic State still controls Mosul, and Falluja -- which lies between Ramadi and Baghdad -- as well as large areas of Syria, the core of what it has declared to be a caliphate.
