Iraqi Forces Moved to Within Three Km of Fallujah Center
raqi counter-terrorism forces are now some three kilometers away from the center of Fallujah, advancing to recapture the strategic city from its southern areas, a senior military commander says.
The commander of Fallujah Liberation Operations said the security forces have tightened control over Fallujah’s southern areas on Friday and are advancing to retake the city.
“Daesh wanted the battle to take place outside the city but we have moved in, and retaken all this area in eight days,” Lieutenant General Abdelwahab al-Saadi said, referring to Fallujah’s southern neighborhoods.
He added that Iraqi troops are “3.1 kilometers (less than two miles) from the main official building in the center” of the city.
Saadi also estimated that the Iraqi forces would manage to liberate the city from Daesh terrorists “in days.”
“We’ll be there, in the very center, in days. Days, not weeks,” he said.
He also noted that “more than 500 Daesh members have already been killed since the start of the operation.”
“Fallujah is a very symbolic place for Daesh… but the battle is not different from other ones and when they are trapped, they try to run away just like they did before,” the commander added.
On May 22, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced the start of the liberation operation of the Daesh-held Fallujah. Nearly 70 kilometers west of the capital Baghdad, the strategic city in the Anbar province has been under the Takfiris’ control since 2014.
Gruesome violence has plagued the northern and western parts of Iraq ever since Daesh terrorists launched an offensive in June 2014, and took control of portions of the Iraqi territory.
The militants have been committing heinous crimes against all communities in Iraq.
Iraqi army soldiers, backed by fighters from the Popular Mobilization Units, are seeking to win back militant-held regions in joint operations.
Daesh kills 30 civilians in western Iraq
On the other hand, at least 30 civilians have lost their lives when TakfiriDaesh terrorists launched an attack against members of two tribes fleeing the city of Fallujah in Iraq’s strife-stricken western province of al-Anbar.
The Iraqi Joint Operations Command, in a statement released on Friday, announced that Daesh extremists opened fire on members of AlbuSaleh and AlbuHatam tribes west of Fallujah, located roughly 69 kilometers (43 miles) west of the capital, Baghdad, earlier in the day as they were heading toward the city of al-Amiriyah, which lies about 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) south of Fallujah.
The statement added that there were women and children among those massacred, noting that the bodies of the victims lay unattended at the site of the horrendous act of violence.
Deputy Special Representative of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq, Lise Grande, said on Wednesday that up to 90,000 civilians are believed to be trapped in the besieged Iraqi city of Fallujah.
“We have underestimated how many civilians are in Fallujah,” Grande said, adding, “People who are coming out are giving us the strong impression that we could be talking about maybe 80,000 to 90,000 civilians that are inside.”
She further warned that if Fallujah is not liberated from the grip of Daesh “quickly,” those holed up there could face a “harrowing situation” as the city has been under siege for about six months, with no supplies getting in.
The UN humanitarian coordinator in Iraq further noted that more than 20,000 people have managed to flee Fallujah in extremely difficult conditions.
“A number of them unfortunately didn’t make it. We know that more than 10 people have drowned when they tried to cross the river,” she said, referring to cases with families having lost their children while fleeing the embattled city.
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