Iraqi Army pauses assault on Falluja, in order to protect civilians
Thu Jun 02, 2016 04:13:pm World
2.6K By Buchi Obichie
Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi of Iraq announced on Wednesday that the Iraqi Army has delayed its assault on the city of Falluja because of fears for the safety of civilians.
ISIS fighters halted the Army's advance at the city's edge, as the terror group mounted a ferocious resistance.
Abadi's decision to halt, two days after elite Iraqi troops poured into the city's rural southern outskirts, postpones what was expected to be one of the biggest battles ever fought against Islamic State.
Falluja fell to ISIS terrorists in 2014; and the Iraqi Government, backed by world powers including the United States and Iran, has vowed to win it back.
"It would have been possible to end the battle quickly if protecting civilians wasn't among our priorities," Abadi told military commanders at the operations room near the frontline in footage broadcast on state television. "Thank God, our units are at the outskirts of Falluja and victory is within reach."
Falluja has been a bastion of the Sunni insurgency that fought both the U.S. occupation of Iraq and the Shi'ite-led Baghdad government. Islamic State fighters raised their flag there in 2014 before sweeping through much of Iraq's north and west.
Abadi first announced plans to assault Falluja 11 days ago. But with 50,000 civilians still believed trapped inside the city, the United Nations has warned that militants are holding hundreds of families in the center as human shields.
A Reuters TV crew reporting from the area stated that after heavy resistance from Islamic State fighters, the Iraqi troops have not moved over the past 48 hours, keeping their positions in Falluja's mainly rural southern suburb of Naimiya.
Explosions from shelling and air strikes as well as heavy gunfire could be heard on Wednesday morning in the city that lies 50 km (30 miles) west of Baghdad.
Falluja is the second-largest Iraqi city still under ISIS control, after Mosul, their de facto capital in the north.
Abadi's initial decision to assault Falluja appears to have gone against the plans of his U.S. allies, who would prefer the government concentrate on Mosul, rather than risk getting bogged down in a potentially drawn out fight for a smaller, potentially hostile Sunni Muslim stronghold like Falluja.
"You do not need Falluja in order to get Mosul," a spokesman for a U.S.-led anti-IS coalition, U.S. Army Colonel Steve Warren, said in a phone interview 10 days ago when the government first announced its plans to recapture Falluja.
However, increased pressure has been mounted on PM Abadi to improve security, as Falluja is Islamic State's closest bastion to Baghdad, believed to be the base from which militants have staged a campaign of suicide bombings in the capital.
ISIS fighters halted the Army's advance at the city's edge, as the terror group mounted a ferocious resistance.
Abadi's decision to halt, two days after elite Iraqi troops poured into the city's rural southern outskirts, postpones what was expected to be one of the biggest battles ever fought against Islamic State.
Falluja fell to ISIS terrorists in 2014; and the Iraqi Government, backed by world powers including the United States and Iran, has vowed to win it back.
"It would have been possible to end the battle quickly if protecting civilians wasn't among our priorities," Abadi told military commanders at the operations room near the frontline in footage broadcast on state television. "Thank God, our units are at the outskirts of Falluja and victory is within reach."
Falluja has been a bastion of the Sunni insurgency that fought both the U.S. occupation of Iraq and the Shi'ite-led Baghdad government. Islamic State fighters raised their flag there in 2014 before sweeping through much of Iraq's north and west.
Abadi first announced plans to assault Falluja 11 days ago. But with 50,000 civilians still believed trapped inside the city, the United Nations has warned that militants are holding hundreds of families in the center as human shields.
A Reuters TV crew reporting from the area stated that after heavy resistance from Islamic State fighters, the Iraqi troops have not moved over the past 48 hours, keeping their positions in Falluja's mainly rural southern suburb of Naimiya.
Explosions from shelling and air strikes as well as heavy gunfire could be heard on Wednesday morning in the city that lies 50 km (30 miles) west of Baghdad.
Falluja is the second-largest Iraqi city still under ISIS control, after Mosul, their de facto capital in the north.
Abadi's initial decision to assault Falluja appears to have gone against the plans of his U.S. allies, who would prefer the government concentrate on Mosul, rather than risk getting bogged down in a potentially drawn out fight for a smaller, potentially hostile Sunni Muslim stronghold like Falluja.
"You do not need Falluja in order to get Mosul," a spokesman for a U.S.-led anti-IS coalition, U.S. Army Colonel Steve Warren, said in a phone interview 10 days ago when the government first announced its plans to recapture Falluja.
However, increased pressure has been mounted on PM Abadi to improve security, as Falluja is Islamic State's closest bastion to Baghdad, believed to be the base from which militants have staged a campaign of suicide bombings in the capital.
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