Iraqi army suffers substantial losses in Fallujah
May 30, 2016 at 11:29 am | Published in: Iraq, Middle East, News
An armoured Iraqi army convoy entering Ramadi
[file photo]
May 30, 2016 at 11:29 am
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/category/news-2/ (I found the story here but they seem to have pulled it down since)
The Iraqi army is reported to have suffered heavy losses during the sixth day of an assault to retake the city of Fallujah from Daesh. As many as ten Iraqi soldiers and allied militiamen were killed in a suicide bombing in the south-east of the city, Al-Jazeera has reported. Seven militiamen were also killed in another attack by the militant group near Amiriyah Al-Fallujah, to the west of Baghdad.
Fierce battles have been reported by witnesses in the town of Saqlawiyah, north-west of Fallujah, especially in Alboshgeul, where the militants attacked Iraqi troops with car bombs. The Iraqi army has advanced towards Fallujah from the north-east and reached Alsijir, which now stands between it and the city’s northern neighbourhoods.
Army sources said that 40 soldiers and militiamen were killed and others were wounded, including a very senior officer, in a surprise attack by Daesh against Heit, in the west of Al-Anbar Province. The sources added that militants had crossed the Euphrates in the dead of night and launched an attack against the city, 30 kilometres west of Ramadi, and now controlled several neighbourhoods. Dozens of families have been forced to flee from the fighting.
The Iraqi forces, with air support from the international coalition, pushed Daesh to withdraw from Heit more than a month ago.
