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Iraqi security forces launched a new offensive against ISIS insurgents in the Sunni Muslim heartland of Anbar Wednesday, seeking to build on a victory over the jihadi group last week in the city of Tikrit, Reuters reported.

Fighting began in the western province's desert terrain as Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi was touring Anbar, visiting Iraqi army units and pro-government Sunnis, his office said. Abadi was expected to address the nation from Anbar later in the day.

Army officers said ISIS militants were driven back Wednesday in the Sijariya area east of the Anbar capital Ramadi and Falluja - the region's two key cities, where the ultra-radical Sunni group has been dominant.

ISIS was retreating from Sijariya, trading mortar fire with government forces, military sources said.

A senior Iraqi officer in Ramadi said the purpose of clearing Sijariya was to secure supply routes to the nearby Habbaniya air base and to weaken the jihadists' grip on territory connecting Ramadi and Falluja.