BAGHDAD (News Desk) – The Iraqi military claims to have recaptured the city of Falluja after five weeks of the intense fighting with the Islamic State militant group.
According to state TV, the General Commanding Officer of the operation declared the battle successful after forces regained the last district of the city.
Lieutenant General Abdul Wahab al-Saidi was quoted as saying “We declared that the central Golan district has been cleaned by the forces and the battle of Falluja is over now.”
He went on to say that at least 1,800 fighters of Islamic State group had been killed during the operation while hundreds of them had fled.
Last week, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi had also claimed the victory for Iraqi forces fighting against ISIS, and vowed to march on Mosul, the terror group’s de facto capital, to crush the terrorist group.
Falluja was held by the Islamic State militant group in January 2014. Over 85,000 civilians evacuated their homes in the city during the last month as the fight between Iraqi forces and ISIS fighters ramped up.
