Iraqi forces continue shelling IS targets in Falluja amid mounting concern

PanARMENIAN.Net - Iraqi forces shelled Islamic State targets in Falluja on Tuesday, May 24 the second day of an assault to retake the militant stronghold just west of Baghdad, as international concern mounted for the security of civilians, Reuters reports.

Residents in the city, 50 km (30 miles) from the capital, reported sporadic shelling around the city centre, but said it was less intense than on Monday.

"No one can leave. It's dangerous. There are snipers everywhere along the exit routes," one resident told Reuters by internet.

The United Nations refugees agency UNHCR said women and children died while trying to leave the city. Over 80 families had managed to escape since May 20, it said in a statement.

About 100,000 civilians are estimated to be in Falluja which, in January 2014, became the first Iraqi city to be captured by Islamic State, six months before the group declared its caliphate. The population was three times bigger before the war.

The Iraqi military said it had dislodged the militants from Garma, a village to the east, overnight. No casualties were reported by the army or the city's main hospital. On Monday, eight civilians and three militants were killed, and 25 people wounded, 20 of them civilians, according to the hospital.