Iraqi troops retake govt. compound in center of Fallujah

Iraqi forces have retaken the main government compound in the center of Fallujah from ISIL terrorists, symbolizing government control of the city.

According to the reports, a military statement said the federal police raised the Iraqi flag above the municipal building on Friday and were continuing to pursue Takfiri terrorists, who continued to hold other areas.

The army's advances in the city, an hour's drive west of Baghdad, mark a significant step in the nearly four-week-old offensive to retake the Takfiri bastion.

"The liberation of the government compound, which is the main landmark in the city, symbolizes the restoration of the state's authority" in Fallujah, Iraq's federal police chief Raed Shaker Jawdat told the AFP news agency.

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

Daesh terrorists still control a significant portion of the city, where the conflict has forced the evacuation of most residents and many streets and houses remain mined with explosives.

Residents of the city center had been trapped in dire conditions for days and used as human shields by Daesh but recent advances have allowed large numbers to escape.

There were an estimated 50,000 people in the city when the operation was launched but it is unclear how many remain now.

SS