Iraqi forces drive Islamic State from Fallujah stronghold

BAGHDAD — Iraqi forces gained control of the main hospital in Fallujah on Saturday and were clearing mines after driving the Islamic State group from most of the city, one of its last remaining strongholds in the Anbar province west of Baghdad, a military official said.

Fighting was still underway in parts of the city, where U.S. and Iraqi warplanes targeted snipers and other Islamic positions, Brig. Gen. Haider al-Obeidi said.

Troops had cautiously advanced toward the hospital, fearing that the militants would use patients as human shields. But when they stormed the facility, they found no patients inside and found the Iraqi flag flying over the building.

The troops later captured the Dubbat neighborhood and are now pushing into the northern neighborhood of Golan and several small areas, he said.

Iraqi special forces swept into Fallujah on Friday, recapturing most of the city after weeks of fighting on its outskirts. Al-Obeidi said Friday that Iraqi troops controlled 80 percent of the city, with IS fighters concentrated in four districts on its northern edge.

Fallujah was the first Iraqi city to fall to the extremist group, in January 2014, and was the last major IS foothold in the sprawling Anbar province, the heartland of the country’s Sunni minority. The group still controls Iraq’s second largest city, Mosul, in the north.

Iraqi troops have been advancing under the cover of airstrikes by the U.S.-led coalition and Iraq’s air force. The operation inside Fallujah was being conducted by the Iraqi army, regional and federal police forces as well as special anti-terrorism units. Shiite militias, known as the Popular Mobilization Force, remained outside Fallujah and have not taken part in the recent battles.

Aid groups estimated that 50,000 civilians were trapped inside Fallujah when the assault began several weeks ago, and that 30,000 to 42,000 of those have fled since then. The majority have been staying in camps near the city.

The conflict in Iraq has forced more than 3.3 million people to flee their homes. Iraq is also hosting up to 300,000 refugees who have fled the civil war in neighboring Syria.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Iraqi security forces celebrate Friday after sweeping into Fallujah and recapturing most of the city from the Islamic State. The victory followed weeks of fighting on the city’s outskirts.