Baghdad says forces dispatched to retake key city under control of terror group for more than 2 years

Iraqi security forces gather on the outskirts of Fallujah as they prepare an operation aimed at retaking the city from the Islamic State (IS) group, on May 22, 2016. (AFP / AHMAD AL-RUBAYE)
Iraqi security forces gather on the outskirts of Fallujah as they prepare an operation aimed at retaking the city from the Islamic State (IS) group, on May 22, 2016. (AFP / AHMAD AL-RUBAYE)

 

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced the beginning of military operations to retake the Islamic State-held held city of Fallujah, west of Baghdad, in a televised address late Sunday night.

Iraqi forces are “approaching a moment of great victory” against the Islamic State group, said al-Abadi, who was surrounded by top military commanders from the Ministry of Defense and the country’s elite counterterrorism forces. Fallujah is about 40 miles (65 kilometers) west of Baghdad and has been under the control of IS for more than two years.

Iraqi forces are “approaching a moment of great victory” against the Islamic State group, said al-Abadi, who was surrounded by top military commanders from the Ministry of Defense and the country’s elite counterterrorism forces. Fallujah is about 40 miles (65 kilometers) west of Baghdad and has been under the control of IS for more than two years.

As reported by The Times of Israel