U.S. military spokesman Steve Warren said in Baghdad on May 27 that over the last four days, 20 strikes on targets in the besieged city had destroyed ISIS terrorist Group positions and gun emplacements in Fallujah.

Iraqi forces launched an operation to recapture Fallujah, an ISIS stronghold located just 50 kilometers west of Baghdad, at the start of this week.

Between 500 and 1,000 ISIS fighters hold Fallujah, and about 50,000 civilians are trapped inside the city. Iraqi officials say the extremist group is trying to kill civilians who attempt to flee.

Warren said the Iraqi Army was working to establish safe evacuation routes for civilians.

Federal Police captain, Lt. Gen. Raed Shaker Jawdat

Meanwhile Federal Police captain, Lt. Gen. Raed Shaker Jawdat, announced on Friday evacuating 760 civilians from the residents of Fallujah to the northern axis of the city. He added “Most of the evacuated families are women and children and they were transferred to a safe place after offering them the necessary assistance.”

The ISIS group overran large areas north and west of Baghdad in 2014, but has been on the defensive for months and have lost significant ground to Iraqi forces.

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