Alwaght- The Iraqi army has freed Fallujah’s heart from ISIS terrorists on Friday, raising the country’s flag over ISIS stronghold’s government headquarters after.
AFP cited the operation's overall commander, Lieutenant-General Abdulwahab al-Saadi as saying "The counterterrorism service and the rapid response forces have retaken the government compound in the centre of Fallujah".
Army forces has reportedly swept through with limited resistance from ISIS terrorists, pushing the group to the edge of losing one of the most emblematic strongholds in its so-called "caliphate".
"The liberation of the government compound, which is the main landmark in the city, symbolises the restoration of the state's authority", said Raed Shaker Jawdat, Iraq's federal police chief.
The compound also houses the city’s police headquarters, the mayor’s office and courthouses.
The Iraqi government has deployed at least 20,000 troops and Popular Mobilization Forces to combat ISIS terrorists occupying the strategic Fallujah city located 60 kilometers west of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad. Fallujah became in January 2014 the first Iraqi city to be captured by ISIS, six months before the notorious Takfiri group declared its so-called caliphate.
One of the reasons ascribed to the delay in storming Fallujah from all axes was related to the humanitarian side of the battle. According to sources, the Iraqi army had kept short of a full attack on the city to give civilians time to flee.
After the recent push, the army is now estimated to be in control of 50 per cent of the city, mostly its southern and eastern districts.
"This operation was met with little resistance from Daesh," Gen Lt Abdulwahab Saadi said, using an Arabic acronym for ISIS.
