Iraqi forces face heavy resistance in IS-held town

Iraqi forces are facing heavy resistance as they push toward the center of a town held by Islamic State militants in western Anbar province.

Iraqi commanders overseeing the operation to take the town of Hit said the speed of the advance will depend on the fighting.

Gen. Husham al-Jabri says Iraqi counterterrorism forces were hit with a barrage of mortars and a string of suicide car bombings on Tuesday morning as they pushed into the small Euphrates River town from the north. He didn't give casualty figures.

Iraqi troops entered Hit on Monday, a week after launching the operation to retake the town. Their advance was stalled as tens of thousands of civilians got trapped in the fighting.

Hit sits on a main IS supply line linking Iraq and Syria.