- Title: Iraqi military assault on IS in Falluja going 'very well' - defence minister
- Date: 23rd May 2016
- Summary: NEAR FALLUJA, ANBAR PROVINCE, IRAQ (MAY 23, 2016)(REUTERS) HASHID SHAABI FIGHTERS FIRING (AUDIO OF GUNFIRE) HASHID SHAABI SHI'ITE FIGHTERS WALKING ALONG TRACK HASHID SHAABI SHI'ITE FIGHTERS ADVANCING IRAQI SOLDIER/ GROUP OF HASHID SHAABI IN BACKGROUND (AUDIO OF GUNFIRE) HASHID SHAABI FIGHTER FLASHING "V" SIGN/ GROUP OF IRAQI SOLDIERS BEHIND SHI'ITE MILITIAMAN IN FRONT OF DESTROYED BUILDING SMOKE RISING GROUP OF IRAQI ARMY SOLDIERS NEAR HUMVEES COLUMN OF IRAQI ARMY HUMVEES IRAQI ARMY HUMVEES IRAQI DEFENCE MINISTER, KHALED AL-OBEIDI, GETTING OUT OF ARMOURED VEHICLE IRAQI SOLDIERS NEAR ARMY HUMVEE (SOUNDBITES) (Arabic), IRAQI DEFENCE MINISTER, KHALED AL-OBEIDI, SAYING: "The operation is going very well, more than expected, the enemy is completely collapsing, our troops' spirits is very high, because of their victories and due to all of that we think that the battle of Falluja will be sealed soon." OBEIDI LEAVING, SOLDIERS IRAQI ARMY HUMVEE DRIVING
- Embargoed: 7th June 2016 16:22
- Keywords: Falluja Islamic State offensive battle Khaled Al-Obeidi
- Location: NEAR FALLUJA, ANBAR PROVINCE, IRAQ
- City: NEAR FALLUJA, ANBAR PROVINCE, IRAQ
- Country: Iraq
- Topics: Military Conflicts
- Reuters ID: LVA0014J157WN
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:An Iraqi military operation to flush out Islamic State militants from Falluja was "going very well" the country's defence minister said on Monday (May 23).
The offensive against the hardline Sunni militants was being fought by the army, police, counter-terrorism forces, local tribal allies and a coalition of mostly Shi'ite Muslim militias, called the Hashid Shaabi.
Iraqi officials say the militias, including ones backed by Shi'ite power Iran, may be restricted to operating outside the city limits, as they largely did in the successful battle to retake the Anbar provincial capital of Ramadi six months ago, to avoid aggravating sectarian tensions with Sunni residents.
There are currently between 500 and 700 IS militants in Falluja, according to a recent U.S. military estimate.
The Baghdad government has called on civilians to flee and said it would open safe corridors to southern areas, but roadside bombs have prevented most of them from leaving.
Iraqi forces have surrounded Falluja since last year but focused most combat operations on IS-held territories further west and north. The authorities have pledged to retake Mosul, the north's biggest city, this year in keeping with a U.S. plan to oust IS from their de facto capitals in Iraq and Syria.
Falluja, a long-time bastion of Islamic State's militants 50 km (30 miles) from Baghdad, was the first city to fall to radical group, in January 2014. Six months later, the group declared a caliphate spanning large parts of Iraq and neighbouring Syria. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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