To capitalize on the momentum gained in Fallujah, Baghdad announced on Saturday that Iraqi soldiers would join with Kurdish forces to begin a siege of Mosul from the south. The campaign will also be supported by US-led airstrikes.
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Troops had cautiously advanced toward the hospital, fearing the militants would use patients as human shields, but when they stormed the facility they found no patients inside, he said.
It was a major step toward removing the Islamic State group from its last major foothold in Iraq’s western Anbar province, the heartland of the country’s Sunni minority.
Smoke rises amid clashes between Iraqi security forces and ISIL in Fallujah on June 17.
“The counter-terrorism service and the rapid response forces have retaken the government compound in the centre of Fallujah”, the operation’s overall commander, Lieutenant-General Abdulwahab al-Saadi, told AFP. They said no civilians were in the hospital when they reached it.
Iraq’s prime minister Haider al-Abadi’s office tweeted that he was discussing the Mosul operation Friday with Gen. Joseph Votel, commander of U.S. Central Command.
The sound of gunfire and explosions echoed through Fallujah’s streets Saturday as security forces battled to oust the remaining militants a day after Iraq declared victory over the Islamic State in the city.
They said that pro-government forces moved on to besiege the city’s main hospital, which was the first target of US forces when they invaded the city in 2004 and in recent months has served as a headquarters complex for the Islamic State. Planes from the U.S.-led coalition have backed up Iraqi forces on the ground.
“ISIS has lost its power to defend Fallujah”, Col. Jamal Lateef, a police commander in Anbar province, said in an interview. He said Islamic State militants “collapsed”, suggesting that majority fled after the Iraqi forces moved in on al-Nazzal neighborhood.
“It is unknown how many families are still trapped inside Fallujah but we are concerned they are the most vulnerable – pregnant women, elderly people, people with disabilities”, the NRC said.
Some 70,000 people are estimated to have fled Fallujah, and another 60,000 are expected to leave over the next several days, according to the UNHCR. Intercepted Islamic State radio communications, which crackled over a walkie-talkie in a base for Iraqi special forces, showed the militants were still resisting.
USA officials acknowledge that military victory in Fallujah could give way to political setback if sectarian agendas are not kept in check.
Al-Obeidi said there were no civilians in al-Nazzal. “It’s too early to say all of the city”. He said special forces believe militants are hiding in areas nearby and the search for them continues.
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Referring to the Islamic State in Fallujah, he said: “It’s certainly not one big amorphous mass. You have different fighters making different decisions for themselves”.
