MEP: At least 130 Iraqi soldiers have been killed and many wounded in a series attacks of Daesh (ISIS or ISIL) terrorists near the city of Fallujah in Anbar province, Al Jazeera said quoting security sources.
The first attack occurred on Wednesday when 10 Daesh suicide bombers targeted the town of Kubaisah, before storming the nearby village of Al Sejar, and then attacked an army convoy to the south of Fallujah at Amiriyat al-Fallujah with roadside bombs.
The deadly violence came after more than a week of when the Iraqi forces entered the city aimed at retaking Fallujah, which lies just 50km west of Baghdad.
The overall commander of the Fallujah operation, Lieutenant-General Abdelwahab al-Saadi, told Al Jazeera that while the Iraqi army had slowed its advance, it was still at the fringes of Fallujah.
“We are here in Naimiyah district and operations are ongoing, and the advance towards the centre of Fallujah is continuing too,” he said.
The Iraqi government has blamed ISIL for using human shields and preventing civilians from leaving the city for the slow progress.
Nearly 50,000 families and civilians are stuck in the city due to conflicts.
“It would’ve been possible to end the battle quickly if protecting civilians wasn’t one of the foundations of our plan,” Haider al-Abadi, Iraq’s prime minister, said in comments broadcast by state television.
However, Daesh terrorists also suffered heavy casualties since the start of the operation on May 22-23, Iraqi commanders said.
