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Iraqi Leader Announces Offensive on ISIS-Controlled City of Falluja Iraqi Leader Announces Offensive on ISIS-Held Falluja
(about 11 hours later)
BAGHDAD — Iraqi forces have begun an assault on Falluja, a city that has been held by the Islamic State longer than any other in Iraq or Syria, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said in a televised speech on Monday.BAGHDAD — Iraqi forces have begun an assault on Falluja, a city that has been held by the Islamic State longer than any other in Iraq or Syria, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said in a televised speech on Monday.
“Today, we will tear down the black flags of the strangers who have kidnapped this city,” Mr. Abadi said, referring to the flags of the Islamic State that have been flying in Falluja for more than two years, in a speech just after midnight, alongside military commanders. “Today we will tear down the black flags of the strangers who have kidnapped this city,” Mr. Abadi said, referring to the flags of the Islamic State that have been flying in Falluja for more than two years, in a speech alongside military commanders just after midnight.
By daybreak, it did not appear that forces had begun entering the city, but only that mortar and artillery rounds were being fired on the city from afar. That had been the case for months, as army units and Shiite militias, many of which operate outside the control of the Iraqi government and answer to Iran, lay siege to the city. However, Iraqi forces did not begin entering the city on Monday, but continued to fire mortar and artillery rounds at it, as they have for months. Officials said pro-government forces had taken some small districts on the outskirts of Falluja, as well as a government building in Karma, a city to the northeast of Falluja that has long been contested by the government and the Islamic State.
Mr. Abadi and other Iraqi leaders have frequently made bold statements heralding new military offensives, only for the efforts to stall on the ground. Mr. Abadi and other Iraqi leaders have frequently made bold statements heralding new military offensives, only for the efforts to stall on the ground. But the new determination to assault Falluja signaled a shift in tactics for the Iraqi government.
Any ground battle to liberate Falluja, often called the “city of mosques” and a stronghold of Sunni extremism — it was something of a birthplace for the Islamic State’s predecessor, Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia — is likely to be long and bloody. For many months, army units and allied Shiite militias had focused on keeping Falluja cut off and under siege rather than mounting any direct assault. Residents and human rights groups described a worsening problem with starvation and medicine shortages.
As fighting intensified around Falluja in recent days, the United Nations said it had stockpiled supplies in Baghdad in the event of a new displacement crisis. But the United Nations said that only 80 families had been able to leave Falluja recently, and that some civilians had died trying.
Tens of thousands of civilians remain there and would be unable to leave even if they wanted to. The Islamic State would most likely shoot them on the way out, and militias on the outskirts of the city sometimes refuse to allow civilians to pass, human rights activists have warned.
Any ground battle to liberate Falluja is likely to be long and bloody. It has often been called the “city of mosques,” and it has long been a stronghold of Sunni extremism, serving as a kind of early home base for Al Qaeda in Iraq.
The United States military, led by Marines, fought two battles for the city in 2004, and the urban, house-to-house fighting was some of the toughest the American military had faced since the Vietnam War.The United States military, led by Marines, fought two battles for the city in 2004, and the urban, house-to-house fighting was some of the toughest the American military had faced since the Vietnam War.
Fighters of the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, have held the city since the beginning of 2014. They are believed to be deeply entrenched and likely to stay and fight, unlike in cities such as Tikrit and Ramadi, which they eventually fled as Iraqi security forces closed in.Fighters of the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, have held the city since the beginning of 2014. They are believed to be deeply entrenched and likely to stay and fight, unlike in cities such as Tikrit and Ramadi, which they eventually fled as Iraqi security forces closed in.
Perhaps mindful of the difficulty the United States faced in pacifying Falluja, American officials have mostly urged the Iraqis to refrain from trying to take back the city. Perhaps mindful of the difficulty the United States faced in pacifying Falluja, American officials have mostly urged the Iraqis to refrain from trying to take back the city. Instead, they have pressed the Iraqis to focus on other targets, such as Mosul, one of the country’s largest cities, which has been in the hands of the Islamic State since June 2014.
Instead, they have pressed the Iraqis to focus on other targets, such as Mosul, one of the country’s largest cities, which has been in the hands of the Islamic State since June 2014. Backed by American and coalition airstrikes, Iraqi forces have made progress in liberating territory held by the Islamic State, including Ramadi, the capital of Anbar Province, and other cities in the Euphrates River Valley.
Backed by American and coalition airstrikes, Iraqi forces have made progress this year in liberating territory held by the Islamic State, including Ramadi, the capital of Anbar Province, and other cities in the Euphrates River Valley.
But they have come at a steep cost in the level of destruction, and military victories have not been matched by any sense of reconciliation between Sunni and Shiite Arabs that would suggest a peaceful future for Iraq.But they have come at a steep cost in the level of destruction, and military victories have not been matched by any sense of reconciliation between Sunni and Shiite Arabs that would suggest a peaceful future for Iraq.
For the Iraqis, momentum for a Falluja offensive gained steam late last week after a surge in Islamic State attacks inside Baghdad, which killed nearly 200 people. The American-led coalition was supporting operations near Falluja, Col. Steve Warren, a coalition spokesman in Baghdad, said in a Twitter message on Monday. He said that since May 17, the coalition had struck 21 targets near Falluja.
For the Iraqis, momentum for a Falluja offensive gained steam late last week after a surge in Islamic State attacks in Baghdad killed nearly 200 people.
Targeting Falluja, only 40 miles from the capital, was immediately seen by the government and militia leaders as necessary to protect Baghdad, and also as a way to exact revenge.Targeting Falluja, only 40 miles from the capital, was immediately seen by the government and militia leaders as necessary to protect Baghdad, and also as a way to exact revenge.
“The moment has come to liberate a city in the land of Iraq,” the Iraqi military said in a statement, “the land that will never accept humiliation because the people of this country have determined to end the darkness of terrorism of ISIS criminal gangs.”“The moment has come to liberate a city in the land of Iraq,” the Iraqi military said in a statement, “the land that will never accept humiliation because the people of this country have determined to end the darkness of terrorism of ISIS criminal gangs.”
The announcement by Mr. Abadi came after the authorities asked civilians on Sunday to prepare to leave the city, promising that safe passage would be provided.The announcement by Mr. Abadi came after the authorities asked civilians on Sunday to prepare to leave the city, promising that safe passage would be provided.
For Mr. Abadi, there is also a potential political benefit to beginning the offensive, or at least to announcing the start of one: It allows him to convey a sense of authority at a time when his government is paralyzed and facing growing protests.For Mr. Abadi, there is also a potential political benefit to beginning the offensive, or at least to announcing the start of one: It allows him to convey a sense of authority at a time when his government is paralyzed and facing growing protests.
On Friday, for the second time in three weeks, protesters breached the heavy security of the Green Zone, the fortified center of Baghdad that houses government buildings and embassies. On Friday, for the second time in three weeks, protesters breached the heavy security of the Green Zone, the fortified center of Baghdad that houses government buildings and embassies. They even got inside Mr. Abadi’s own office before withdrawing, but not before at least two had died in the unrest, as security forces fired tear gas and live ammunition.
Protesters even got inside Mr. Abadi’s own office before withdrawing, but not before at least two died in the unrest, as security forces fired tear gas and live ammunition.
For months, militias and Iraqi security forces have surrounded Falluja, putting the city under a siege that has led to starvation and shortages of medicine.
Tens of thousands of civilians remain inside and would be unable to leave even if they wanted to. The Islamic State would most likely shoot them on the way out, and militias on the outskirts of the city sometimes refuse to allow civilians to pass, human rights activists have warned.
The city fell to the Islamic State almost two and a half years ago after the Iraqi Army attacked a protest encampment where Sunnis had been gathering for nearly a year to express their grievances toward the government of the prime minister at the time, Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, whose sectarian policies have been blamed by the United States for the rise of the militant group.