By Shiite Fighters, the Iraqi army launched its operation to recover Falluja on May 23 by tightening a six-month-old siege around the city 50 km (32 miles) west of Baghdad.

On Tuesday, Shiite militias advanced into Saqlawiya district in the northern outskirts of Falluja, one day after a thrust by the Iraqi army into the southern edge of Falluja under air support.

A Shiite militia coalition known as Popular Mobilisation, or Hashid Shaabi ( Hashd Al Shabi), were seeking to consolidate the siege by dislodging militants from Saqlawiya, a village just to the north of Falluja.

Freelance footage obtained by the Associated Press late on Tuesday showed Iraqi counterterrorism forces battling their way into the city with the help of armored vehicles and shelling of ISIS targets.

Tuesday saw Iraqi government and militia forces repel a four-hour attack by Islamic State group militants.

The footage also showed plumes of smoke billowing, with thick smoke rising in the distance.

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