Heavily armed Interior Ministry police units were advancing along Baghdad Street, the main east-west road running through the city, and commandos from the counter-terrorism service (CTS) had surrounded Falluja hospital, the military statement said.
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Forces soldiers recaptured a Fallujah city municipal building from Islamic State fighters Friday after a almost month-long battle to reach the city’s core.
Raed Shaker Jawdat, Iraq’s federal police chief, confirmed the advance, which marks a significant step in the almost four-week-old offensive to retake the city in Anbar -province.
“The liberation of the government compound, which is the main landmark in the city, symbolises the restoration of the state’s authority” in Fallujah, he said.
U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said Iraqi forces had taken back a portion of the city, although he added: “There’s still some fighting to be done”.
In this Tuesday, June 14, 2016 photo, Iraqi security forces advance their positions during heavy fighting against Islamic State group militants in Fallujah, Iraq. When the neighborhood fell, the troops were able to move in to the city center and the government complex. Although they knew the road to reach the camp was not completely safe, they made a decision to leave out of fear of what might happen if they stayed.
He said IS militants “collapsed”, suggesting that a lot of them fled after the Iraqi forces moved in on the al-Nazzal neighbourhood. And the clashes between the government forces and ISIL are causing casualties.
Witnesses said Islamic State had announced via loudspeakers that residents could leave if they wanted, but it was unclear why the group changed tact after clamping down on civilian movement only a few days ago.
It is believed that up to 90,000 civilians are still inside Fallujah.
The mayor and field commanders said dozens of militants attempted to blend in with the fleeing civilians this week, but that some 1,000 had been identified and arrested.
The humanitarian crisis in Iraq has been dubbed one of the world’s worst by the UN.
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Since the beginning of the present conflict in 2014, more than 3.4 million people have been internally displaced and 2.6 million have fled Iraq.
