Iraqi leader cites early success in push to retake Fallujah

BAGHDAD -- Iraq's prime minister hailed "big successes" Monday by government troops after launching an offensive to retake Fallujah from Islamic State militants, but the operation promises to be one of the toughest challenges yet for the country's struggling security forces.

Troops recaptured some agricultural areas in Garma, a district along the northeastern edge of Fallujah, under intensified Iraqi airstrikes and heavy artillery, said Col. Mahmoud al-Mardhi, who leads Shiite militia forces in the operation.

The U.S.-led coalition carried out two airstrikes, the Pentagon said, part of an aerial campaign that has seen an average of two bombings a day over the past week in the city about 40 miles west of Baghdad.

Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi toured the Fallujah front line dressed in the all-black fatigues of Iraq's elite counterterrorism forces, saying the troops had achieved "more than what was planned for" and "big successes," but he did not elaborate.

He had triumphantly announced the start of the operation in a televised address late Sunday night, flanked by senior military commanders. The city has been under the control of Islamic State militants since January 2014.

"The Iraqi flag will be raised high over the land of Fallujah," he vowed, saying it would be taken back from those who "kidnapped" it.

Originally planned to begin more than two months ago, the offensive was delayed by political infighting and the deteriorating security situation in Baghdad, Abadi said.

Navy Capt. Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman, said he does not believe the Iraqis have gotten into the city yet.

The latest estimates put the number of IS fighters in all of Anbar province at about 1,000 and "dropping quickly," Davis said.

The number of fighters in Fallujah also has been falling, he said, but he added he did not have a firm number. One previous coalition estimate put it at 500 to 700 fighters.

The offensive follows a series of territorial gains over IS in western Iraq, but it still could delay plans to win back the second-largest city of Mosul, the focus of the U.S. plan to defeat the militants in Iraq and neighboring Syria.

A number of other operations announced by Iraqi leaders have faltered. A plan to retake Mosul was announced in March with much fanfare, but only a handful of villages near the city have been captured since then.

The assault on Fallujah is the first major offensive in an urban area since Iraqi forces cleared Ramadi of IS fighters earlier this year. Despite being declared a victory, Ramadi stands largely uninhabitable. IS explosives and a punishing campaign of airstrikes destroyed thousands of homes and buildings, and many still standing are suspected of being booby-trapped. More than 100 civilians died trying to return to Ramadi after IS was pushed out.

While Ramadi was under IS control for less than a year, the extremists have controlled Fallujah for more than twice that time. The predominantly Sunni provincial capital was the first Iraqi city to fall to IS, and it long has been a bastion of militancy opposed to the Shiite-led central government in Baghdad.

During an insurgency waged by the IS group's predecessor, al-Qaeda in Iraq, Fallujah was the scene of some of the bloodiest urban combat with U.S. forces. In 2004, more than 100 U.S. troops died and another 1,000 were wounded fighting insurgents in house-to-house battles.

Once home to more than 250,000 people, only about 60,000 to 100,000 civilians remain in Fallujah, according to the coalition and the United Nations. Many Iraqis are suspicious of the civilians who have not fled, assuming many are IS sympathizers.

On Sunday, the Iraqi military repeated calls for civilians to leave, and Davis said leaflets were dropped to warn the population. Those unable to leave were advised to avoid buildings associated with IS and raise a white flag above their homes.

But residents say because IS controls the main roads, thousands are trapped. The U.N. reported only 80 families have fled in recent days.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said there is "a great risk" to about 50,000 civilians estimated by the U.N. to still be in Fallujah. U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said: "It's important that they have some safe corridors that they could use."

IS previously has used civilians as human shields, forcing families to move with the fighters as they retreat from advancing forces and coalition airstrikes. The practice slowed the pace of other operations in Anbar. While the counterterrorism troops are some of Iraq's most competent forces, they still rely heavily on air support to retake territory.