Iraqi forces have entered a former government compound in Ramadi, from where Islamic State group militants have been resisting an army offensive, sources have told the BBC.
The source said troops had entered one building and were planning to push cautiously through the rest of the huge compound amid fears of explosives.
The mainly Sunni Arab city, about 55 miles west of Baghdad, fell to the so-called Islamic State group in May, and was seen as an embarrassing defeat for the army.
A group of Iraqi soldiers had entered what used to be the city's department of health - housing the blood bank - the BBC's Thomas Fessy reports from Baghad, quoting security sources.