Iraqi forces push deeper into Islamic State-held Fallujah

Iraq’s elite counterterrorism forces push deeper into Islamic State-held Fallujah, more than two weeks after the operation to retake the city from the militant group started, a senior military official says.

After securing the southern edge of the city on Sunday, Iraqi special forces enter the neighborhood of Shuhada Wednesday morning, Maj Gen Hadi Zayid Kassar, deputy commander of the counterterrorism forces in Fallujah, tells The Associated Press.

The operation to retake Fallujah is expected to be one of the most difficult yet — this city in Iraq’s western Anbar province is symbolically important to the militant group and has been a bastion of support for anti-government militants since the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq.

Artillery and rocket fire clear the way and a single column of black Humvees is seen moving in between the low rise buildings of Shuhada, a southern neighborhood in Fallujah. After Iraqi forces begin their advance, a quick succession of coalition airstrikes followed, filling the sky above Fallujah with dark grey smoke.

— AP