Siege of Fallujah (2016)

For the battle in which ISIL captured Fallujah in 2014, see Fall of Fallujah (2014). For other battles in Fallujah, see Battle of Fallujah (disambiguation).
Siege of Fallujah (2016)
Part of the Iraqi Civil War (2014–present),
the American-led intervention in Iraq (2014–present),
and the Anbar offensive (2015–present)

Fallujah during the Iraq War
Date2 February 2016 – present
(3 months and 5 days)
LocationFallujah and Al-Karmah, Anbar Governorate, Iraq
Status

Ongoing

  • Fallujah is fully besieged by Iraqi government forces[1][2]
  • Iraqi forces recapture Al-Karmah[3]
Belligerents

Iraq Iraq

Air support:[4]

 Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant

Commanders and leaders
Haider al-Abadi (Prime Minister of Iraq)
Suhaib al-Rawi (Governor of Anbar)
Issa Sayyar Al Isawi (Mayor of Fallujah)
Sayeer al-Essawie (Iraqi Major of Fallujah)		 Abu Waheeb (Top ISIL commander in Anbar)[5]
Hussein Alawi † (ISIL commander in south Fallujah)[6]
Ayad Marzouk al-Anbari † (Senior ISIL Fallujah commander)[7]
Units involved
Unknown

Military of ISIL

  • Secret Police Force (Al-Hisbah)
Strength

Several thousand fighters

  • 4,000 Shi'ite militiamen[8]
 1,000–2,000 fighters[9][10]
Casualties and losses
31 killed
180+ Iraqi tribesman captured,[11] and 10 executed[12]		 497+ killed (By May 4)[13]
140 civilians dead from starvation[14][15]
Hundreds of people executed
90,000 civilians are besieged in Fallujah (April 2016 estimate)[2][16]

The Siege of Fallujah (2016) is an ongoing offensive that the Iraqi government launched against ISIL in Al-Karmah and in the city of Fallujah, in the form of a siege, in an attempt to recapture the city from ISIL. During the siege, local Sunni residents revolted against ISIL for a period of 3 days, in February 2016.

Background

On January 4, 2014, ISIL, then known as the al-Qaeda-affiliated Islamic State of Iraq, captured the city of Fallujah, after Iraqi government forces withdrew from the city, following a 5-day battle. This victory allowed ISIL to capture its first city on Iraqi soil, and it also allowed them to establish a stronghold only 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the Iraqi capital of Baghdad.

From April to May 2015, the Iraqi Army launched an offensive in and around the town of Al-Karmah. During the offensive, the Iraqi Army made some limited gains in the Al-Karmah, by capturing some territory in the town and building a base for a future assault to fully recapture both Fallujah and Al-Karmah.[17]

In mid-May 2015, ISIL captured Ramadi, after a large series of suicide attacks during a sandstorm prompted Iraqi forces to abandon the city to ISIL. Two months later, the Iraqi Security Forces recovered from their loss in the Anbar's provincial capital, and on July 13, 2015, launched an offensive to recapture the Anbar Province. During the offensive, ISIL suffered a major blow, after they lost Ramadi to Iraqi government forces in February 2016.

On February 1, the Iraqi Army launched an offensive on the Khalidiya Island area, which is the region located between the villages Albu Nasir and Albu Shajal, situated between Ramadi and Fallujah.[18] On the same day, the Iraqi Army managed to capture the villages of Albu Shalib and Albu Shajal, to the northwest of Fallujah.[19]

The offensive

Total siege

On February 2, the Iraqi Army fully severed the last supply lines between the Khalidiya Island region and the city of Fallujah, completely besieging the city.[1] This led to concerns that an estimated 30,000–60,000 civilians trapped in Fallujah would starve, due to the lack of airdropped supplies into the city.[9] On February 10, it was reported that the Iraqi Army had fully recaptured the Khalidiya District, including the Khalidiya Island area.[20]

Fallujah revolt and Al-Karmah offensive

From February 15 to 19, the Iraqi Army launched an offensive into the town of Al-Karmah, to the northeast of Fallujah, killing dozens of ISIL militants.[21][22]

On February 18,[23] a large number of local Sunni tribesmen revolted against ISIL, after ISIL beat a woman, among other restrictive practices enforces by ISIL's Al-Hisbah secret police, amid an ongoing siege. ISIL was reported to have withdrawn into Fallujah city, after local Sunnis burned the Al-Hisbah headquarters and clashes spread.[24][25] On February 20, the clashes began to die down as ISIL began carrying out mass arrests, and it was reported that there were still some Sunni fighters who were pinned down in parts of Fallujah, who would likely be massacred if the Iraqi Government or the US-led Coalition does not intervene.[23] On February 21, the Iraqi Army began shelling ISIL positions on the outskirts of Fallujah, in support of the Sunni tribal fighters.[26] Late on February 21, ISIL crushed the revolt, and detained 180 men.[11] However, on the same day, the Iraqi Army deployed reinforcements to Fallujah, in preparation to storm the city.[27]

On February 23, the Iraqi Army fully recaptured the town of Al-Karmah, after they destroyed ISIL's last stronghold in the town.[3]

On February 24, a Coalition airstrike killed 30 ISIL militants in the Karama sub-district, just east of Fallujah.[28]

Tightening siege

On February 25, the Iraqi Governor of Anbar stated that the battle for Fallujah would begin soon, and that it would be much shorter than the battle for Ramadi.[29] On the same day, the Iraqi Army tightened their siege on Fallujah,[2] pushing into the outskirts of Fallujah, and securing all of the bridges leading into the city.[30][31] On the same day, the Iraqi Army cleared the Albu Daeig district in southern Fallujah, killing 19 ISIL militants.[30] It was also reported that ISIL was using food as a weapon in Fallujah, denying food supplies to the people it suspected of having links to the rebel tribesmen or being non-ISIL sympathizers.[2]

On February 27, the Iraqi Government reported that 600 ISIL fighters had managed to flee Fallujah to nearby areas,[10] and to the city of Mosul.[32] After the defections, local sources estimated that there were only 400 ISIL militants remaining in Fallujah city.[10] On February 28, the Shi'ite militia forces repelled an ISIL attack on Al-Karmah, which was described as one of the largest attacks on the town.[33] Later on the same day, Iraqi government forces repelled a massive ISIL suicide attack in Abu Ghraib and western Baghdad, which was the largest attack carried out by the group in the area in nearly 2 years. The assault left 48 ISIL militants and 23 Iraqi soldiers dead.[34]

Renewed fighting since April

On 4 April, Iraqi Security Forces killed 150 ISIL fighters near Fallujah. Coalition spokesman Col. Steve Warren said U.S. forces in Iraq couldn’t confirm of the number of extremist fighters killed, but some 100 militants were killed on the same day by airstrikes condicted by the U.S.-led Coalition, which could have been part of the tally.[35]

On 6 April, eight Iraqi soldiers were killed in an attack launched by ISIL on a military barracks in al-Ma’amel village, east of Fallujah.[36] On 9 April, ten civilians were killed and 25 others were injured after airstrikes and artillery shelling by the Iraqi Army targeted the al-Fallujah market and Nezal district in the downtown area of the city.[37] On 10 April, six ISIL militants were killed by the Iraqi army's artillery shelling in the area of Falahat, west of the city.[38]

On April 21, the US-led Coalition conducted an airstrike on an ISIL gathering in the Ahsi area near Amiriyah Fallujah, killing the top ISIL commander in southern Fallujah, along with six of his assistants.[39] On April 26, warplanes bombarded a number of areas in al-Resala, central Fallujah, resulting in the death of eight civilians, including three children, and wounding 13 others.[40] On April 27, six ISIL militants were killed and five others were wounded, when the Iraqi Army pounded ISIL positions in the city with artillery.[41] On April 28, Coalition aircraft conducted three airstrikes on ISIL headquarters in the al-Rofah area, north of al-Karma District, killing 15 ISIL terrorists, including three leaders, named Khattab al-Halabusi, Aush al-Shami, and Mosadaq Abdel Galil. Meanwhile, an ISIL vehicle carrying machine guns was also destroyed.[42]

On April 30, unidentified fighters attacked a gathering of ISIL militants near the Alwa area in the al-Joulan neighborhood, in central Fallujah killing seven ISIL militants.[43] On 2 May, security forces carried out a large-scale military operation targeting ISIL gatherings in the al-Falahat area, killing 15 ISIL members and injuring ten others, as well as bombing a laboratory for manufacturing booby-trapped vehicles.[44]

On May 3, the Iraqi Army and allied militia forces launched an offensive in the southern Fallujah area, capturing the areas between Amiriyah and Fallujah city.[45] By the next day, Iraqi Government forces had come within 3 kilometers of Fallujah's southern entrance, capturing 4 villages, killing 100 ISIL militants, and destroying 10 ISIL tunnels.[13][46] On May 5, Anbar Operations Commander Major General Ismail Mahlawi told Anadolu Agency that the Iraqi army had captured five areas of the city.[47]

On the morning of 5 May, violent clashes broke out between two factions belonging to ISIS in Nazzal neighborhood in central Fallujah, after the theft of 700 million dinars that were deposited with one of ISIS leaders called Jabbar Auf, resulting in the killing of ten ISIS members and injuring eight others.[48]

Starvation and negotiations

As the siege tightened, tens of thousands of Iraqis, trapped in the Fallujah, were left without regular access to food and medicine, as shortages intensified in recent weeks. As the Iraqi Army tightened its grip on the city, local reports indicated that ISIL grew bloodier and more desperate. Some residents reported that they had no fuel to heat themselves during the cold winter. Still, some supplies were available in some stores, but only for ISIL fighters or sympathizers, according to local reports. Iraqi officials said that negotiations led by the International Red Cross have been going on in an attempt to get ISIL to allow some aid teams to enter into the city and provide basic assistance. However, these negotiations have not been successful yet. Hekmat Sulaiman, the spokesperson for Anbar's Governor, said that the Iraqi Army had tried to deliver food to the civilians, but that ISIL had blocked the efforts. A senior federal security official confirmed the negotiations, but declined to specify whether the talks were happening with ISIL leaders inside the city, or elsewhere.[2][49] In the same day, ISIL pushed in the city center, after the Iraqi forces begin to advance towards the Hit surrounding areas.[50][51]

Executions and abductions

On March 30, a commander of the Iraqi Popular Mobilization units, Colonel Mahmoud Mardi Jumaili said ISIL killed 35 people in the central district Fallujah on Wednesday after accusing them of attempting to escape from the city.[52]

On April 4, ISIL burns 15 civilians to death for trying to escape Fallujah.[53]

On April 14, a security sources said ISIL militants have begun a massive offensive in al-Halabese and al-Bualawan areas Western Fallujah since last night, abducting at least 100 Iraqi civilians. ISIL elements have taken the abducted Iraqi civilians to the organization's prisons in the city.[54]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Amre Sarhan (February 2, 2016). "Security forces cut off ISIS supply routes between Fallujah and Khalediya Island". Iraq news, the latest Iraq news by Iraqi News. Retrieved February 5, 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Thousands face starvation in Iraq's Fallujah as siege tightens". Middle East Eye. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  3. 1 2 Abdelhak Mamoun (23 February 2016). "9 ISIS suicide bombers killed while trying to attack security forces in Karma". Iraq news, the latest Iraq news by Iraqi News. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  4. ↑ "Roadside bombs slow Iraqi forces' advance on Ramadi". Aljazeera.com. Retrieved 2016-02-28.
  5. ↑ "IS Governor of Anbar killed in Airstrike". Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  6. ↑ "Iraqi Army kill ISIS military commander in Daeig area south of Fallujah". 28 February 2016. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  7. ↑ "Senior ISIL Commander Killed in Anbar Province". 23 April 2016.
  8. ↑ Abdelhak Mamoun (12 April 2016). "More than 4000 fighters to join cleansing battles in Fallujah". Iraq news, the latest Iraq news by Iraqi News. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
  9. 1 2 Loveday Morris (February 1, 2016). "Trapped by the Islamic State, Iraqis in Fallujah say they are going hungry, too". Washington Post. Retrieved February 5, 2016.
  10. 1 2 3 "600 ISIS Fighters Flee Fallujah in Northern Iraq". 28 February 2016. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  11. 1 2 Tamer El-Ghobashy (21 February 2016). "Islamic State Reasserts Control Over Fallujah". WSJ. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  12. ↑ "Iraqi forces tighten siege on IS stronghold Fallujah - Xinhua | English.news.cn". News.xinhuanet.com. Retrieved 2016-02-28.
  13. 1 2 Over 100 ISIS jihadis killed as Iraqi forces advance near Fallujah
  14. ↑ Matt Bradley (31 January 2016). "Iraqi Blockade of Occupied Fallujah Takes Toll on Civilians". WSJ. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  15. ↑ "Iraq: Fallujah Siege Starving Population". HRW. 7 April 2016.
  16. ↑ "90,000 people are trapped in the ISIS-held city of Fallujah — and they’re running out of food". 9 April 2016.
  17. ↑ "Iraqi forces advance against Daesh stronghold in west Anbar province". Al Bawaba. 2015-04-27. Retrieved 2016-02-28.
  18. ↑ Loaa Adel (February 1, 2016). "Army forces advance to liberate Albu Shehab & Albu Shagl areas in Khalidiya Island". Iraq news, the latest Iraq news by Iraqi News. Retrieved February 5, 2016.
  19. ↑ Iraq Situation Report: January 26 – February 1, 2016
  20. ↑ "Iraqi troops fully capture Ramadi". The Financial Express Online Version. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  21. ↑ Abdelhak Mamoun (15 February 2016). "Joint forces begin military operation to free Karmat Fallujah". Iraq news, the latest Iraq news by Iraqi News. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  22. ↑ Abdelhak Mamoun (19 February 2016). "Security forces advance into Karmat Fallujah, kill dozens of ISIS fighters". Iraq news, the latest Iraq news by Iraqi News. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  23. 1 2 Loveday Morris (20 February 2016). "Is the Islamic State losing its grip on Fallujah?". Washington Post. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  24. ↑ Loveday Morris (19 February 2016). "Islamic State faces new trouble in Fallujah as Sunni tribesmen revolt". Washington Post. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  25. ↑ NBC News. "ISIS Beating Woman Triggers Fallujah Clashes: Officials". NBC News. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  26. ↑ "Fighting In Iraq's Fallujah 'Stops After IS Group Seizes Residents'". RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  27. ↑ Abdelhak Mamoun (21 February 2016). "Military reinforcements arrived in Fallujah, security forces prepare to storm the city". Iraq news, the latest Iraq news by Iraqi News. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  28. ↑ "Official: Airstrikes kill 30 ISIS militants in east Fallujah". Rudaw. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  29. ↑ Amre Sarhan (25 February 2016). "Liberation of Fallujah will be faster than Ramadi, says Anbar Governor". Iraq news, the latest Iraq news by Iraqi News. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  30. 1 2 Loaa Adel (25 February 2016). "Security forces cleanse Albu Daeig, kill 19 ISIS militans". Iraq news, the latest Iraq news by Iraqi News. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  31. ↑ Amre Sarhan (26 February 2016). "Security forces will arrive at New Fallujah Bridge, says Anbar Council". Iraq news, the latest Iraq news by Iraqi News. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  32. ↑ Abdelhak Mamoun (27 February 2016). "600 ISIS fighters fled from Fallujah to Mosul". Iraq news, the latest Iraq news by Iraqi News. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  33. ↑ Amre Sarhan (28 February 2016). "Volunteer forces repel ISIS attack on al-Karma, Anbar". Iraq news, the latest Iraq news by Iraqi News. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  34. ↑ "The Battle for Iraq is Reaching its Climax: Breakdown of the Battlefields". Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  35. ↑ "Iraqi Forces Kill 150 Islamic State Fighters Near Fallujah, Army says". WSJ. 4 April 2016.
  36. ↑ "Iraq halts ISIL offensive as more ground troops needed". Mindanao Examiner. 7 April 2016.
  37. ↑ "10 civilians killed as Iraqi army shells Fallujah". 9 April 2016.
  38. ↑ "22 IS militants killed, hundreds of families return to Ramadi". Shanghai Daily. 10 April 2016.
  39. ↑ "Iraq: ISIS Wali of south Fallujah killed by coalition airstrike". 21 April 2016.
  40. ↑ Amre Sarhan (26 April 2016). "8 dead, 13 wounded in aerial bombing in central Fallujah". Iraq news, the latest Iraq news by Iraqi News. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
  41. ↑ "11 IS militants killed in clashes in western Iraq". 27 April 2016.
  42. ↑ Loaa Adel (28 April 2016). "International coalition kills 15 ISIS members north of Karma". Iraq news, the latest Iraq news by Iraqi News. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
  43. ↑ Amre Sarhan (1 May 2016). "Anbar Operations announces killing 7 ISIS elements in central Fallujah". Iraq news, the latest Iraq news by Iraqi News. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
  44. ↑ http://www.iraqinews.com/iraq-war/25-isis-fighters-killed-wounded-battles-west-fallujah/
  45. ↑ Iraqi army advances into Fallujah, recapturing two areas, strategic road
  46. ↑ Iraqi forces free four villages in Anbar, 30 IS terrorists killed
  47. ↑ Iraqi army retakes five areas in Fallujah from Daesh
  48. ↑ http://www.iraqinews.com/iraq-war/18-isis-members-killed-wounded-dispute-amount-money-fallujah/
  49. ↑ Prince, Sam. "PHOTOS: ISIS Propaganda Shows Battles Near Fallujah, Iraq". Heavy.com. Retrieved 2016-02-28.
  50. ↑ "Iraq forces in major push against IS in Anbar". Yahoo News. 19 March 2016. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  51. ↑ http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2016/03/19/Iraq-forces-in-major-push-against-ISIS-in-Anbar.html
  52. ↑ "Daesh terrorists kill 50 Iraqi citizens in Iraqi Fallujah, Mosul". 31 March 2016. Retrieved 7 April 2016.
  53. ↑ "ISIS burns 15 civilians to death for trying to escape Fallujah". 5 April 2016. Retrieved 7 April 2016.
  54. ↑ "ISIL Terrorists Kidnap Over 100 Residents in Fallujah". 14 April 2016.

Coordinates: 33°25′00″N 43°18′00″E / 33.4167°N 43.3000°E / 33.4167; 43.3000

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