IS pulls out of town in Iraq's Anbar

The Islamic State group on Sunday pulled its fighters out of Rutba, a desert town in the western Iraqi province of Anbar, an army general and the mayor said.

The pullout, if confirmed, would be a rare case of the jihadists abandoning a position under no massive miliary pressure and suggests a manpower crisis in the organisation.

After launching a final push against IS in the provincial capital Ramadi late last year, Iraq's security forces established full control over the city last month. They have since been securing areas east of Ramadi, further isolating the jihadist stronghold of Fallujah.