FALLUJAH, Iraq (AP) – Iraqi commanders are preparing to dislodge Islamic State group fighters from pockets of territory in Fallujah’s northern and western neighborhoods where the militants have dug in after largely fleeing their positions in the city center last week.
Before Iraqi forces rolled into central Fallujah under cover of U.S.-led coalition airstrikes, they were bogged down for weeks, trying to push through deep defensive trenches, tunnels and houses converted into bunkers by IS militants on the city’s southern edge. Now looking to the city’s north, Iraqi commanders expect to encounter a similarly fierce fight.
“It’s not going to be easy,” Iraqi special forces Brig. Gen. Ali Jameel said of the upcoming battle for the last pockets of IS resistance where an estimated 100 militants are largely surrounded.
“They are going to fight to the death because they have nowhere to run,” he said.
Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi launched the offensive to retake Fallujah from the Islamic State group on May 22. The Sunni-led extremist group has held the city west of Baghdad for more than two years.