Iraqi army to storm IS-held city

BAGHDAD: The Iraqi army began an operation on Monday to storm Falluja, the Islamic State group’s stronghold near Baghdad, a military officer told a Reuters TV crew near the front line.

A military unit is trying to advance in the city, he said as explosions and gunfire could be heard in Falluja’s southern Naimiya district.

The Iraqi army, supported by Iranian-backed militia, began the operation to recapture Falluja on May 23, first by tightening its siege around the city, 50-km west of Baghdad, and has now begun a direct assault.

In January 2014, Falluja became the first Iraqi city to fall under the control of the militants, six months before they declared a caliphate over territory seized in Iraq and Syria.