The Islamic State group sealed its capture of Ramadi after a dramatic pullout by Iraqi forces but was prevented by Syrian troops from taking over the heritage site of Palmyra.
Hundreds of fighters and civilians were killed in both battles, which also added thousands more families to the millions already displaced by conflict on either side of the border.
The effective loss of the capital of Iraq’s largest province marked one of Baghdad’s worst setbacks since it began a nationwide offensive last year to reclaim territory lost to the jihadists in June 2014.
“Anbar operations command has been cleared,” Muhannad Haimour, spokesman and adviser to the provincial governor, told AFP. Several security officials confirmed the retreat.
IS fighters, who already controlled most of the Anbar provincial capital, used a wave of suicide car bombings to take most of the city and raised their black flag over the provincial headquarters.
Meanwhile, Nearly 300 people have been killed in several days of fighting since the ISIS launched an attack against Palmyra.