00:41Iraq: Army liberates Saqlawiyah from IS forces in drive for Fallujah
Iraqi special forces along with allied militias liberated territory controlled by the so-called Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) in Saqlawiyah, Saturday, gaining ground on the push to retake Fallujah.
Fighters from the army, police and from local militias paraded around the town, which sits just 10 kilometres (6.2 miles) north-west of Fallujah. Soldiers displayed the infamous IS flag upside down as a symbolic insult as they celebrated the liberation of the town.
The military forces of the Iraqi government initially launched the operation to retake the IS-held city of Fallujah on May 23, following an announcement by the Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi.
Fallujah, about 40 miles (78 km) west of Baghdad, was the first Iraqi city to be taken by IS in January 2014. Thousands of civilians remain trapped in the city with reports suggesting that IS are refusing to let them flee. Food supplies are reportedly running low with an estimated 50,000 civilians still remaining.
00:41Iraqi special forces along with allied militias liberated territory controlled by the so-called Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) in Saqlawiyah, Saturday, gaining ground on the push to retake Fallujah.
Fighters from the army, police and from local militias paraded around the town, which sits just 10 kilometres (6.2 miles) north-west of Fallujah. Soldiers displayed the infamous IS flag upside down as a symbolic insult as they celebrated the liberation of the town.
The military forces of the Iraqi government initially launched the operation to retake the IS-held city of Fallujah on May 23, following an announcement by the Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi.
Fallujah, about 40 miles (78 km) west of Baghdad, was the first Iraqi city to be taken by IS in January 2014. Thousands of civilians remain trapped in the city with reports suggesting that IS are refusing to let them flee. Food supplies are reportedly running low with an estimated 50,000 civilians still remaining.