“The liberation of the government compound, which is the main landmark in the city, symbolizes the restoration of the state’s authority” in Fallujah, said Raed Shaker Jawdat, Iraq’s federal police chief.
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The offensive against Fallujah began on May 22, and while much of the fighting surrounding villages was carried out by Shiite militias with Iranian military advisers, the assault on the city itself fell to Iraqi government forces backed by air support from the USA and allies.
Falluja is seen as a launchpad for recent Islamic State (IS) bombings in the capital, making the offensive a crucial part of the government’s campaign to improve security, though US allies would prefer to concentrate on Mosul.
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 Fallujah hospital, the statement said. ISIS gained support from the local population that had grown disaffected by the Shiite-led government in Baghdad.
CBS News correspondent Elizabeth Palmer says taking the compound is a major symbolic victory for the Iraqi army – and the latest in a series of high profile defeats for ISIS.
There have been concerns about the plight of civilians stuck inside Fallujah.
The announcement came almost four weeks after the start of a USA -backed offensive to liberate the Islamic State’s last major foothold in Iraq’s Anbar province.
Fallujah was the first city to fall as IS troops swept through northern Iraq in January 2014, capturing swathes of territory and committing atrocities against both the Shia majority and the Yazidi minority groups.
The brutal assault to flush out the militants forced thousands of civilians to flee, with ISIS trapping tens of thousands more within the city limits.
It is unclear why the group has changed tactics but the sudden exodus is putting further strain on under-resourced aid groups and displacement camps, with humanitarian needs expected to increase dramatically. Iraq is also hosting up to 300,000 refugees who have fled the civil war in neighbouring Syria. Many are thought to be relatives of IS fighters, although al-Jumaili said the terror group plans to use civilians as human shields.
“The top leaders are mostly gone and those left behind to defend the city are not their best fighters, which explains their performance”, said a security officer speaking on condition of anonymity. Abadi tried to assure the displaced that security forces had sacrificed their lives so they could return to live in “security and peace”. Out of 7,000 detained, about 1,500 have been referred to the judiciary for suspected ties to the Islamic State, said Issawi, who heads the screening committee.
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“We warn that the aim of the fighters should not be revenge”, he said in his Friday sermon, urging “discipline”.
