DHAKA: Iraqi government forces have retaken most of the city of Falluja from so-called Islamic State fighters who have held it since 2014, officials say.

US Defense Secretary Ash Carter said there was ‘still some fighting to be done’ as IS still controls a significant part of the city, reports the BBC.

But Iraq’s prime minister hailed the day’s events as ‘liberation’.

A senior army spokesperson said he expects IS to ‘suffer a total breakdown during the next hours’.

‘The enemy is collapsing. They have lost control of their fighters. They are on the run now,’ Lt Gen Abdul Ameer al-Shammari said.

Special forces commander Brig Haider al-Obedi told the media that his troops controlled 80% of the city.

Falluja, only 50km west of Baghdad, has been held by IS for longer than any other city in Iraq or Syria.

They captured it in January 2014.

BDST: 1150 HRS, JUN 18, 2016
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