Reuters learned from one Iraqi commander, Lt. Gen. Abdul Wahab al-Saidi, that the “U.S.-backed Iraqi forces fighting Islamic State militants in Falluja are advancing toward jihadist strongholds in western districts where they expect the final push to recapture the city will take place”.
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On Friday, Iraq’s Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared victory over Fallujah, saying the city “has returned to the embrace of the nation”. Al-Obeidi says Iraqi fighters who know the terrain and can blend in with local residents have largely melted away, leaving behind foreign fighters who have little choice but to fight to the death.
Iraqi forces advanced into the center of Fallujah on Friday, liberating a majority of the city from ISIS and raising the national flag over a government building, according to Iraqi and USA officials.
Aid groups estimate that 50,000 civilians remain trapped inside Fallujah, which has been under ISIS control for over two years.
He said Iraqi military engineers were clearing the streets and buildings of left-over bombs.
Then, Iraqi commanders said 80 percent of the city was under their control, though clashes were still underway in its northern parts.
Iran’s semi-official Fars News Agency reports that six ISIS terrorists dressed as women were captured by police.
The Iraqi military has regained control of about a third of Fallujah’s territory from Daesh, US Department of Defense spokesman Matthew Allen told Sputnik on Tuesday. UNHCR called for $17.5 million to meet the immediate needs of the growing number of displaced. The city once was home to almost half a million people, but the violence forced majority to flee.
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Fallujah “is liberated”, later tweeted Sohaib Alrawi, the governor of Anbar, Iraq’s largest province, where the city is located.
