Iraqi troops retake government compound in IS-held Fallujah

PanARMENIAN.Net - Iraqi forces retook the main government compound in the center of the jihadist bastion of Fallujah from the Islamic State group on Friday, June 17, top commanders said, according to AFP.

"The counter-terrorism service and the rapid response forces have retaken the government compound in the center of Fallujah," the operation's overall commander, Lieutenant General Abdulwahab al-Saadi, told AFP.

Raed Shaker Jawdat, Iraq's federal police chief, confirmed the advance, which marks a significant step in the nearly four-week-old offensive to retake the city.

"The liberation of the government compound, which is the main landmark in the city, symbolizes the restoration of the state's authority" in Fallujah, he said.

Both commanders said their forces had met limited resistance from IS fighters during the push into the city center, AFP reports.

The government lost control of Fallujah in 2014, months before IS took second city Mosul and swept across large parts of the country.