Camp Tariq: Iraqi forces battling their way into Fallujah have repelled a four-hour attack by Daesh in the city's south, even as the UNHCR has cited several reports of people being used as "human shields" by the terrorist group.
Two officers with the special forces say the attack started at dawn on Tuesday in the Nuaimiya area where Iraqi troops captured almost 85 percent of the ground the previous day, when they first entered Fallujah.
The officers say Daesh militants used tunnels, deployed snipers and sent six explosives-laden cars to hit the troops but they were destroyed before reaching their targets. The officers spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing campaign.
Fallujah, which has been under Daesh control for over two years, is 65 kilometers (40 miles) west of Baghdad.
It's the last major city in western Iraq still under control of the Daesh group.
Assault intensifies
Special forces entered the "second phase" in the fight to recapture Fallujah from Daesh as 50,000 people are still believed trapped in the city.
Iraq’s special forces assault on one of Daesh group's strongholds faced stiff resistance with the group launching suicide attacks.
In the assault launched in the early hours of Monday, at least 10 Iraqi security forces and members of allied Shia militias were killed in the early hours of the offensive, while 25 more were injured, according to an Al Jazeera report citing military sources.
In Ramadi, less than 100km from Fallujah, Iraqi police said at least 15 special force soldiers were killed in a Daesh attack on Monday.
Fighting on Monday followed battles a day earlier, adding to the exodus of thousands of desperate civilians from the surrounding areas and deep concern for the many more trapped in the battlegrounds.
The operation to capture Fallujah, now running for a week, has so far focused on retaking villages and rural areas close to the central city, which lies just 50km west of Baghdad.
Only a few hundred families have managed to slip out of the Fallujah area, with an estimated 50,000 people still trapped inside the city proper.
