Iraqi army and popular forces' final gains was the Northwestern al-Julan neighbourhood, the last area controlled by the Islamic State ( ISIS , ISIL , IS and Daesh) militants in the Fallujah.
A member of the Iraqi government forces collects ammunition at a building in Fallujah, 50 kilometres (30 miles) from the capital Baghdad, after they retook the embattled city from the Islamic State group on June 26, 2016. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi urged all Iraqis to celebrate the recapture of Fallujah by the security forces and vowed the national flag would be raised in Mosul soon. While the battle has been won, Iraq still faces a major humanitarian crisis in its aftermath, with tens of thousands of people who fled the fighting desperately in need of assistance in the searing summer heat. / AFP PHOTO
Iraqi forces took the Daesh group’s last Stronghild in the city of Fallujah Sunday, establishing full control over First Iraqi city fallen in Daesh’s hands after a month-long operation.
“The Iraqi security forces now control the whole city of Fallujah,” said Sabah Al Noman, spokesman for the Iraq elite counter-terrorism service (CTS) that has been leading the fight.
"“It did not take more than two hours for CTS to retake Jolan. Daesh did not fire a single bullet,” Noman said. “This proves that Daesh was defeated even before our forces got there.”"
Iraq CTS fighters on Sunday eased into Al Jolan, a northwestern neighborhood of Fallujah where the last Daesh terrorists in the city were believed to be holed up.
“Jolan was Daesh’s last stronghold in the city and Fallujah is now free of the threat posed by Daesh terrorists,” he said.
A spokesman for the Joint Operations Command coordinating the fight against Daesh said some extremist pockets remained northwest of Fallujah and that the overall operation could not be considered over yet.
“We still have an ongoing fight northwest of Fallujah. We never made central Fallujah the ultimate goal of our operation... the aim is to clear the whole area,” he said.
The offensive began on May 22-23 with an initial phase of staging operations aimed at tightening a months-old siege on Fallujah and led by the Hashed Al Shaabi, a paramilitary organisation dominated by militias.
Iraqi PM Abadi has promised Mosul was the next target in the battle against Daesh and forces have already begun moving from two directions towards Mosul.
The organization has lost several key leaders in air strikes, more than two thirds of the territory it controlled in Iraq two years ago and it also faces multiple offensives in Syria.
Few major attacks have been reported in Baghdad since the start of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan however.
Fallujah has been under ISIS control for more than two years. After taking Falluja back from ISIS, the Iraqi security forces now face a bigger challenge: Mosul.
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