Iraqi commander declares defeat of Islamic State in Falluja
Iraqi forces on June 26 recaptured the last district of Falluja held by Islamic State militants and the commander of the operation declared the battle over following a month of fighting.
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Iraqi troops reached the city center, an hour's drive west of Baghdad, last week but militants had holed up in some parts, including Golan district which the military retook on June 26.
The assault is part of a wider offensive against Islamic State, which seized swathes of territory in 2014 but is now being driven back by an array of forces backed by a US-led coalition.
Gains in Falluja give fresh momentum to the campaign to retake Mosul, the largest city anywhere in the jihadists' self-proclaimed caliphate spanning Iraq and Syria.
“As we promised you, today this flag is flying high in Falluja and, God willing, it will soon fly in Mosul,” said Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, wearing a black military uniform and waving the Iraqi tricolour in front of the main hospital.
Swift advances in Falluja surprised many who expected a drawn-out battle for the bastion of Sunni Muslim insurgency, where some of the toughest fighting of the US occupation took place in 2004 against Islamic State's al Qaeda forerunner.
Lieutenant General Abdul Wahab al-Saidi, who was in charge of the operation, told state TV at least 1,800 militants had been killed and the rest had fled or been captured. Some were still holding out in buildings, he said.
