NAYMIYAH // Iraq’s elite counterterrorism forces pushed deeper into ISIL-held Fallujah on Wednesday, more than two weeks after an operation to retake the city began.
After securing the southern edge of the city on Sunday, Iraqi special forces have entered the Shuhada neighbourhood, said Maj Gen Hadi Zayid Kassar, deputy commander of the counterterrorism forces in Fallujah.
It came as the United Nations significantly revised upwards the number of civilians believed trapped in the besieged city, previously estimated to be 50,000.
“We have underestimated how many civilians are in Fallujah,” said UN humanitarian coordinator for Iraq Lise Grande. “People who are coming out are giving us the strong impression that we could be talking about maybe 80,000 to 90,000 civilians that are inside.”
The operation to retake Fallujah is expected to be one of Iraq’s most difficult yet against ISIL. The city in western Anbar province is symbolically important to the militant group and has been a bastion of support for anti-government militants since the 2003 US-led invasion toppled Saddam Hussein.
Artillery and rocket fire cleared the way on Wednesday, and a column of black Humvees was seen moving in between the low-rise buildings of Shuhada, a southern neighbourhood. After Iraqi forces began their advance, a quick succession of coalition airstrikes followed, filling the sky with dark grey smoke.
Just before the push, Lt Gen Abdel Wahab Al Saadi drove to the edge of the territory that Iraqi forces control.
Surrounding buildings have been shredded by artillery fire and the dirt roads running through the mostly agricultural neighbourhood have been churned by Iraqi troops’ heavily armoured vehicles – an indication of the ferocity of the fighting.
The main roads to and from the front line are marked with craters from airstrikes and roadside bombs, with defensive trenches dug by both ISIL and Iraqi forces.
Different Iraqi forces are taking part in the fight for Fallujah, but only counterterrorism troops are actually entering the city. Paramilitary troops, made up mainly of Shiite militias, have been given the task of pushing the militants from the outskirts and tightening the siege.
“We expect to face more resistance, especially because we are the only forces entering the city,” said Gen Haider Fadel, one of the commanders of the counterterrorism forces.
“The Daesh are concentrating all their forces in this direction.”
Iraqi forces have faced stiff resistance from ISIL in the fight for Fallujah. Extensive use of tunnels, well-trained snipers and roadside bombs slowed the initial push into the city.
But Maj Gen Gary Volesky, the US commander in Iraq, defended the performance of Iraqi government forces in the operation, saying they were playing a larger role than the Shiite militias in leading the isolation of Fallujah.
“The Iraqi security forces have not stalled,” Maj Gen Volesky said. “They are continuing to move, they got the isolation done pretty rapidly.”
Fallujah is one of the last ISIL strongholds in Iraq. The Sunni extremist group has controlled the city, located about 65 kilometres west of Baghdad, for more than two years.
* Associated Press, with additional reporting by Reuters