Iraqi army, allies surround most of Fallujah: Sources

By Idris Okuducu

ANBAR, Iraq

Iraqi army forces and allied Shia militias have surrounded most parts of Fallujah within the context of ongoing operations to free the war-battered city from the Daesh terrorist group, Iraqi security sources said Monday morning.

The campaign to retake Fallujah, which is being supported by airstrikes carried out by a U.S.-led international anti-Daesh coalition, "gained momentum early Monday morning, with Iraqi forces surrounding most of the city," Anbar Provincial Council member Raji Barakat told Anadolu Agency.

Iraqi forces, he added, "have continued to make progress in the southern, eastern and northern parts of the city".

According to Barakat, Daesh militants have attempted to hinder the army’s advance with the use of booby-trapped cars, Katyusha rockets, howitzers and mines.

Ongoing operations to retake Fallujah, which officially began one week ago, is relying mainly on Iraqi army troops, counter-terrorism forces, federal police units, the Hashd al-Shaabi (an umbrella of Iraqi Shia militias) and armed tribesmen.

Located along the Euphrates River about 50 kilometers west of Iraqi capital Baghdad, Fallujah -- which fell to Daesh in early 2014 -- is believed to be home to some 90,000 residents.

*Anadolu Agency Correspondent Ahmet Sait Akcay contributed to this report from Ankara.