Some 2,500 ISIL Takfiri terrorists killed in Fallujah: Iraqi commander

A senior Iraqi commander says nearly 2,500 ISIL Takfiri terrorists have been killed during a month-long offensive to recapture the strategic western city of Fallujah from the militants.

Lieutenant General Abdulwahab al-Saadi, the commander of Fallujah Liberation Operation, said on Monday there were between 3,500 and 4,000 ISIL terrorists in Fallujah, located some 69 km west of the capital, Baghdad, when Iraqi government forces, backed by fighters from Popular Mobilization Units, launched a large-scale operation in late May to retake the city.

The Iraqi commander, who was speaking with al-Sumaria satellite television network late on Monday, noted that 15 percent of ISIL Takfiris in Fallujah were foreign nationals.

He went on to say that 1,086 ISIL-affiliated suspects have also been arrested.

Meanwhile, Brigadier General Haider al-Obeidi, a commander of Iraqi special forces, said Iraqi forces have taken control of Shurta and Jughaifi neighborhoods in Fallujah, adding that Iraqi military engineers were clearing up streets and buildings of improvised explosive devices.

According to the Iraqi commanders, 80 percent of Fallujah is now under their control although some intermittent clashes are reported in northern parts of the city.

SS