Iraqi forces push into Islamic State stronghold of Hawija

Iraqi forces push into Islamic State stronghold of Hawija
Iraqi forces pushed into the Islamic State stronghold of Hawija on Wednesday as they stepped up their assault against one of the extremists' last strongholds in the country.
2 min read
04 October, 2017
Iraqi forces and the Hashd al-Shaabi are fighting to retake Hawija. [Getty]
Iraqi forces pushed into the Islamic State stronghold of Hawija on Wednesday as they stepped up their assault against one of the extremists' last strongholds in the country.

"With God's help, the army, the federal police and the rapid response force began a major operation on Wednesday to liberate the centre of Hawija and the neighbouring town of Riyadh," Lieutenant General Abdel Amir Yarallah said in a statement.

Iraqi government forces and the Hashd al-Shaabi, an alliance of Shia militias, are fighting to retake the northern town of Hawija after expelling IS from nearly all of the territory the militants seized in Iraq in 2014.

The latest operation involves federal police, elite units, tribal volunteers and the army.

Read more: After Hawija: What to expect from Islamic State's commanders

Police chief Raed Shakir Jawdat said that the latest "phase of the operation to liberate Hawija" had begun with artillery and missile fire on IS positions.

Click to enlarge map 

He said that elite federal police units had entered the city from the northwest.

"They are advancing and the goal is to take seven neighbourhoods of Hawija and 12 vital objectives," he said, without providing more details. 

The United Nations said on Tuesday that an estimated 12,500 people had fled the town since the launch of the offensive last month.

The UN's humanitarian affairs office (OCHA) said the number of people still in the town was unknown but could be as high 78,000.

Hawija, about 230 kilometres north of Baghdad, is one of just two areas of Iraq still held by IS, along with a stretch of the Euphrates Valley near the Syrian border which is also under attack.