Iraqi army launches final offensive for Fallujah, to wrest from Islamic State

Anti-terrorism squads, the army and police forces are encircling the city. Iraqi and international air force air raids cover the offensive. But the military must overcome the counter-attacks of the jihadists resistance. The fear is that civilians are being used as human shields. IS strikes Baghdad with new attacks, 21 dead.

 

Baghdad (AsiaNews / Agencies) - The Iraqi army has launched "its final offensive" for Fallujah, to wrest the city of Anbar governorate, about 50 km west of the capital, under Islamic State (IS) control since 2014. However, local sources reported that the military will have to face fierce jihadist resistance seen in the frequent counter-attacks. The battle which began at dawn yesterday is still underway.

There are at least 50 thousand civilians trapped inside the city; so far only a few hundred families have managed to escape to safety. The fear is that they can be used as human shields against the bombings.

The Iraqi army commander in charge of operations in Fallujah, Abdul-Wahab al-Saadi, says "anti-terrorism forces" are operating in coordination with "other armed forces and the police in Anbar province". He also reports "heavy fighting" on the outskirts of town.

To support ground troops the Iraqi air force and international coalition have launched numerous air raids.

Local sources say that IS has at least 1200 fighters in Fallujah, most of whom come from the city itself.

So far the Iraqi army has retaken two towns south of Fallujah, but the resistance of the militants is complicating their advance. The impression is that the Iraqi forces are trying to form a ring around the city, to stifle Daesh opposition [Arabic acronym of the Islamic state].

Sources on the ground say that there might be a break in operations before the final assault, to allow other civilians to leave the city. Witnesses in the area speak of people dying of hunger and civilians killed because they refused to fight for IS.

Together with Mosul, jihadist stronghold in Iraq, Fallujah is one of the most important cities to have fallen to IS in 2014, at the beginning of the jihad offensive. Before the rise of Daesh 300 thousand people lived in the city and, in the past, it was one of the "symbols" of Sunni "resistance" against the US military invasion following the fall of Saddam Hussein. Furthermore, it is known as the "city of mosques" for the more than 200 places of worship.

Meanwhile the militias of the Islamic State have launched a series of bomb attacks in Baghdad and in some areas around the capital; in yesterday's attacks at least 21 people died and dozens more were injured.

• Iraq Islamic
• state Fallujah army offensive Islam fundamentalism