Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi on Tuesday visited Ramadi a day after the army retook the city center from ISIL, a victory that could help vindicate his strategy for rebuilding the military.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi on Tuesday visited Ramadi a day after the army retook the city center from ISIL, a victory that could help vindicate his strategy for rebuilding the military.

Security sources said Abadi had arrived by helicopter at the Anbar University complex in Ramadi's southern outskirts and would meet with commanders from Iraq's army and counter-terrorism forces, which spearheaded the offensive.

Abadi later announced the visit to the Anbar provincial capital himself on Twitter and said he was inspecting troops at the main government complex there. He separately declared Thursday a national holiday in celebration.

The army's apparent capture of Ramadi, in the Euphrates River valley west of Baghdad, marks a milestone for the forces.

As part of his security reforms, Abadi last year scrapped 50,000 "ghost soldiers" - army members who don't actually exist but whose salaries are collected - and changed top security chiefs in a bid to improve performance.