USA TODAY International Edition
Iraqi forces may face human shields in fight for Fallujah
Iraq’s military and militia forces advanced Monday to liberate Fallujah from the Islamic State as airstrikes pounded the city officials see as key to stopping a spate of attacks by the militant group.
The mission to free Fallujah is complicated by reports from residents that the extremist group holds civilians hostage as human shields inside the city.
Fallujah, a predominately Sunni city about 40 miles west of Baghdad, is nearly surrounded by the military and Shiite militias that have nearly cut off the Islamic State from supplies and reinforcement, military officials said.
“Popular mobilization and security forces have tightened its fist on Fallujah,” said Akram al Kabi, head of Harakat Nujaba, a Shiite militia participating in the battle for Fallujah. “We are advancing quickly toward the city.”
Gen. Abdul Wahab al Saadi, chief of the Fallujah operation, said the military retook a hospital just outside Fallujah. “We are pushing steadily, and very soon, we will control the main highway north of the city,” he said.
The Popular Mobilization Forces, a coalition of about 40 mainly Shiite militias, said in a statement, “We control the southern side of Gurma, and we manage to create a separation between Gurma from Fallujah,” referring to a town under the Islamic State’s control about 3 miles north of Fallujah.
Heavy artillery and airstrikes by the Iraqi air force south of the city killed many members of the Islamic State, also known as ISIL or ISIS, said Rajaa Barakat, a member of the provincial council of Anbar province.
As the battle for Fallujah begins, thousands of residents remain trapped in the city.
“We have secured safe passage for the residents,” Barakat said. The government warned residents Sunday before the offensive began to hang white flags on their buildings.
People trapped in the city told USA TODAY that the Islamic State imposed a curfew and moved many residents to the city center to use as human shields. The group prevented civilians from leaving the city and threatened to kill anyone attempting to do so. The residents asked not to be identified out of fear of reprisals by the Islamic State.
The United Nations said last month that the militants were killing residents who attempted to leave the city, and those who remain face acute shortages of food and medicine.
Iraqi officials said they are tak- ing that situation into consideration. “We have decided to make it a battle with less damage to the infrastructure, as we are keen to protect the civilians,” Barakat said.
Dozens of families who live on the outskirts of town were able to flee the fighting, taking shelter with the Iraqi army, according to a Joint Operation Center statement.
Fallujah has been under the Islamic State’s control since 2014, one of the first Iraqi cities to fall to the group during its advance on Iraq and Syria that summer.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider alAbadi announced Sunday that the push to retake Fallujah had begun. The campaign is likely to be easier than the prolonged battle to retake Sunni- dominated Ramadi in December, because the militant group’s hold on the city has been weakened by airstrikes, officials said.
“Islamic State has collapsed in Fallujah,” Defense Minister Khalid al- Obeidi said. He said the “moral authority” of the militants with residents is gone. “We will achieve victory soon.”