Iraqi forces liberate 47 villages around Fallujah
Iraqi forces have liberated 47 villages located near the city of Fallujah from the Takfiri Daesh terrorist group, a top Iraqi military commander says.
Head of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units, Abu Mahdi al-Mohandis, made the announcement in an interview with the Arabic-language al-Sumaria news website on Sunday, saying, the operations that led to the liberation of the villages were conducted in the three Iraqi regions of Saqlawiyah, Albu Shajal and Karma in the western Anbar province.
Mohandis added that the Daesh-held city of Fallujah is fully under siege and all the main connection routes, except for a parallel route along the Euphrates River which is used by the terrorist group to enter the city, have been blocked.
“Some of the Daesh Takfiris have escaped through the river and some have had to stay in the city following the siege,” he said.
Stressing the significance of the city of Fallujah, the head of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units pointed out that 80 percent of the terrorist acts perpetrated in the country’s capital city of Baghdad are orchestrated by Daesh elements operating in the city.
The picture, taken on November 11, 2014, shows Iraqi army soldiers standing before a building where a conference on fighting the Daesh terrorist group is held at the al-Asad air base, in Iraq’s Anbar province. (By AFP)
Mohandis further said that an estimated number of between 2,000 and 2,500 Takfiri terrorists are currently active in Fallujah.
Mass grave unearthed in Saqlawiyah
On Sunday, al-Sumaria news website also reported that Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units discovered the mass grave of at least 400 military personnel that belonged to the Iraqi Army’s 53 Division in the city of Saqlawiyah located roughly 5 miles northwest of Fallujah.
Iraqi sources said the images obtained from the corpses reveal that the victims had either been shot dead or killed in bombing attacks.
Gruesome violence has plagued the northern and western parts of Iraq ever since Daesh launched an offensive in the country in June 2014, and took control of portions of Iraqi territory.
The Iraqi army and volunteer forces are involved in operations to win back militant-held areas.
