- Title: Iraqi forces clash with Islamic State in Falluja
- Date: 25th May 2016
- Summary: FALLUJA SUBURBS, IRAQ (MAY 24, 2016) (AGENCY POOL) LINE OF ARMOURED MILITARY VEHICLES ON A ROAD MOVING FORWARD AND FIRING (AUDIO OF GUN FIRE) SOLDIER STANDING ON TOP OF VEHICLE FIRING (AUDIO OF GUNFIRE) TROOPS FIRING FROM BEHIND AN ARMOURED VEHICLE SMOKE FILLING THE SKY BEHIND BUILDINGS AND TREES LARGE CLOUD OF SMOKE RISING VARIOUS OF HASHID SHAABI OR POPULAR MOBILISATION FORCES FIRING MORTARS TANK DRIVING UP DIRT MOUND / SOLDIERS STANDING BY ARMOURED VEHICLE DRIVING PAST / TROOPS STANDING NEAR MORTARS (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) BRIGADIER GENERAL HAIDER AL-BASRI ABU DHURGAM, COMMANDER OF THE 5TH BRIGADE POPULAR MOBILISATION FORCES: ''We are now two kilometers away from the city of Falluja. We will enter into Falluja and liberate it completely.'' MILITARY VEHICLES WITH TROOPS DRIVING ON ROAD
- Embargoed: 9th June 2016 15:03
- Keywords: Falluja fighting Islamic state Iraqi soldiers army coalition
- Location: FALLUJA SUBURBS, IRAQ
- City: FALLUJA SUBURBS, IRAQ
- Country: Iraq
- Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace,Insurgencies
- Reuters ID: LVA0014JB4LDZ
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: QUALITY AS INCOMING
Iraqi joint forces continued their fight against Islamic State (IS) militants near Falluja on Tuesday (May 24) bombarding central districts in a large scale military offensive to retake the city.
Together with the Popular Mobilisation Forces, Shi'ite Muslim militias also known as Hashid Shaabi, Iraqi troops battled Islamic State positions about two kilometres away from the city of Falluja.
Brigadier General Haider al-Basri Abu Dhurgam, Commander of the 5th Brigade Popular Mobilisation Forces expected to rid the city of IS militants.
''We are now two kilometers away from the city of Falluja. We will enter into Falluja and liberate it completely," he said.
Clashes between Iraqi government forces and the Islamic State group outside the city of Falluja briefly subsided on Tuesday, the second day of the military operation to drive to retake the longtime jihadist stronghold on the western approaches to the capital Baghdad.
Falluja is a bastion of Sunni Muslim jihadists 50 km. (30 miles) from Baghdad that was the first city to fall to Islamic State in January 2014. About 300,000 people lived in the Euphrates River city before the current war. - Copyright Holder: POOL (CAN SELL)
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2016. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None