DHAKA: Iraqi forces are facing tough resistance on the outskirts of Fallujah, as they attempt to retake the key city held by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) armed group.

Lieutenant-General Abdelwahab al-Saadi, the commander of the operation, said ISIL (also known as ISIS) fighters launched a fierce counter-attack on Naimiyah, a suburb south of Fallujah early on Tuesday before the armed group was repelled, reports the Aljazeera.

“There were around 100 fighters involved, they came at us heavily armed but did not use car bombs or suicide bombers,” he said.

Saadi said Iraqi forces, which also include police and army units, were eventually able to repel the attack, killing 75 ISIL fighters.

He did not give a figure for losses on the pro-government side, however sources told Al Jazeera that at least 15 Iraqi security forces and members of allied Shia militias had been killed.

Al Jazeera’s Omar Al Saleh, reporting from the northern province of Erbil, said the Iraqi army was controlling over 85 percent of Naimiyah, according to military sources.

He added, however, that there were conflicting reports from the area, with ISIL claiming to have forced Iraqi troops to retreat after launching an ambush that left dozens dead.

Fallujah, 50km west of Baghdad, is one of the two remaining major Iraqi cities still in ISIL hands, the other being Iraq’s second-largest city Mosul.

BDST: 0921 HRS, JUNE 01, 2016
BD