Iraq Anbar operation
Members of Iraq's Shi'ite paramilitary forces launch a rocket toward Islamic State militants on the outskirt the city of Falluja in province of Anbar, Iraq. Reuters

Islamic State (Isis) has lost control of Anbar University after hours of fighting with the Iraqi army near Ramadi, sources say.

Athal al-Fahdawi, a provincial councilman, told AP that the Iraqi army had retaken the university which is located some three miles south of Ramadi, which fell to IS last month.

He said that many buildings in and around the complex have been badly damaged or destroyed.

Another Anbar councilman, Faleh al-Issawi, said that as many as two dozen IS fighters were killed in the clashes but declined to provide more details.

While the Iraqi military launched a large-scale operation this month to retake Anbar Province, most of the key cities are still controlled by IS.

The Anbar region is in the heart of Iraq's 'Sunni triangle' and has been a base for violence Sunni insurgency since the US-led invasion in 2003.