Syrian Kurdish forces are advancing on Manbij, an IS-held city controlling the supply route between the Turkish border and the town of Raqqa, the militants’ de facto capital.
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Maj. Ahmed Na’im with the Anbar police force said that while his men and the Iraqi federal police are fighting the same enemy in the same city, they never coordinate operations or share intelligence.
Fallujah was a major battleground between the insurgency and USA forces after the invasion of Iraq in 2003.
Still, just south of Fallujah’s Shuhada neighborhood, the only evidence of an ongoing operation Tuesday was the occasional round of Iraqi artillery fired into the city.
In a telephone interview with Reuters in Baghdad, the U.N. Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq, Lise Grande, warned that civilians could face a “harrowing” situation in the besieged city 50 kilometers (32 miles) west of Baghdad.
The UN estimated more than 20,000 have fled Fallujah since the planned offensive was announced, but in recent weeks reports have suggested that no more than a few hundred are still trickling out, with them facing threats of violence by ISIS for leaving, and risking torture from Shi’ite militias if they get caught after escaping. The Islamic State group has held Fallujah for more than two years.
Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said last week that the army slowed down the pace of the offensive because of fears for the safety of tens of thousands of civilians trapped in the city with limited access to water, food and healthcare.
“We were surprised that they treated us so well”, said a man at a camp who was in his 50s and gave his name as Abu Muhammad.
The fighters of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria “want to hide behind the civilian population”, he said.
Lieutenant General Abdelwahab said:”The security forces are advancing towards central Fallujah from the southern side but doing so cautiously, to preserve civilian lives”. Gen. Hadi Zayid Kassar, deputy commander of the counterterrorism forces in Fallujah told The Associated Press.
“In coming days, we will declare the liberation of Fallujah”. “We have no choice but to be victorious”, Assad said to applause.
But the terrorist attacks on Baghdad continued Wednesday, he said. “They imposed the war on us”, he added.
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Assad spoke as a military advance is underway to capture key urban strongholds of the Islamic State in Raqqa.
