Iraq stronghold Fallujah cleared of Islamic State
A SENIOR Iraqi commander has announced the city is free of ISIS terrorists after a month-long military operation
ISIS terrorists have been cleared out of the group's Iraq stronghold in Fallujah.
A senior Iraqi commander declared the city "fully liberated" from the terrorist group after a month-long military operation.
Iraqi troops entered the northwestern al-Julan neighbourhood and cleared out the last remaining Islamic State militants, the head of counter-terrorism forces Lt. Gen. Abdul-Wahab al-Saadi told the Associated Press.
Al-Saadi said the operation, which began in late May, "is done and the city is fully liberated".
The Iraqi army was backed by US-led coalition airstrikes and paramilitary troops, mostly Shiite militias.
Al-Saadi told Iraq state TV: "From the center of al-Julan neighbourhood, we congratulate the Iraqi people and commander in chief... and declare the Fallujah fight is over."
Soldiers were seen shooting the air, chanting and waving the Iraqi flag in celebration.
Fallujah had been under the control of the Islamic State since January 2014.
The city, which is about 40 miles west of Baghdad, was the first to fall under ISIS control and was the scene of some of the bloodiest combat with American forces during an insurgency waged by IS' predecessor Al-Qaeda.
In 2004, more than 100 US troops and a further 1,000 were injured fighting insurgents in house-to-house battles.
ISIS extremists still control significant areas in northern and western Iraq, including the country's second biggest city Mosul.
The group declared an Islamic caliphate on the territory it holds in Iraq and Syria and at the height of its power was estimated to hold nearly a third of each country.
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