Pictures from Fallujah

[-Cp]

An illumination round blazes in the night sky over Fallujah as U.S. artillery bombards the city ahead of a new advance by Marines and Iraqi forces

Masked guerrillas on the streets of Mosul after firing a rocket-propelled grenade during clashes with U.S. and Iraqi forces Wednesday. U.S. commanders believe many insurgent leaders may have escaped Fallujah, and are launching new attacks in a number of cities from Baghdad to as far north as Mosul

A U.S. soldier fires on an enemy sniper position in the course of a U.S.-Iraqi operation to wrest control of the city back from insurgents

A member of Charlie Company of the U.S. Marines First Division, Eighth regiment, takes a smoke break in Fallujah Tuesday, after U.S. forces punched their way into the center of the insurgent-held town

An Iraqi officer salutes interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi during his visit to Iraqi troops on the frontline at Camp Fallujah, Monday

Marines carry a wounded comrade to a helicopter near Falluja, Wednesday, as U.S. troops made rapid progress in their battle to recapture the city from insurgents

Soldiers from the 1st U.S. Marines Expeditionary Force, 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines Regiment, Bravo Company hold a suspected insurgent captured during the ground offensive to retake Fallujah

U.S. soldiers catch a brief nap in the master bedroom of a local house commandeered during fighting in Fallujah, Wednesday

 

[Avatar4321]

U.S. soldiers catch a brief nap in the master bedroom of a local house commandeered during fighting in Fallujah, Wednesday

Holy crap thats nicer than my house. how the heck do the Iraqis have nicer crap than i do?

 

[nakedemperor]

Holy crap thats nicer than my house. how the heck do the Iraqis have nicer crap than i do?

We're tasteless Americans :huh:

 

[nbdysfu]

Same way saddam has nicer cr*p? But yeah, enough with the vinyl siding guys!

 

[waltky]

'Humanitarian disaster' Fallujah still a battleground...

IS conflict: Falluja 'humanitarian disaster' warning
Sun, 19 Jun 2016 - A humanitarian disaster is unfolding in Falluja, aid workers say, with civilians fleeing as Iraqi government forces drive back Islamic State fighters.

A humanitarian disaster is unfolding in Falluja following a civilian exodus from the Iraqi city, aid workers warn. Some 80,000 people have fled during a four-week government offensive to drive back so-called Islamic State fighters, says the UN. A further 25,000 civilians are likely on the move, the organisation adds. Aid workers are struggling to provide food, water and medicine to people who are sleeping in the open in hopelessly overcrowded camps outside the city. "The overwhelming number of people that have come out of Falluja has actually overwhelmed our ability to respond to the people in need," said Nasr Muflahi from the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC). "We implore the Iraqi government to take charge of this humanitarian disaster unfolding on our watch," he added. Iraqi government forces have succeeded in retaking most of Falluja, but fighting continues in some parts of the city, which is just 50km (30 miles) west of Baghdad.

'Militants are still active' - BBC's Ahmed Maher in devastated city

We drove into Falluja on a road that snaked through what was once a wealthy suburb but is now deserted. Many homes have been destroyed. By the side of the road, unexploded shells showed how dangerous these streets remain for civilians if they are allowed to return. Many tell harrowing escape stories. Some have been caught in crossfire, others drowned in the Euphrates as they tried to swim to safety. We heard the sound of artillery and gunfire wherever we went. Many of those who fleeing the fighting have been forced to sleep in the open, and spend their days under the sun in temperatures set to reach 47C (117F) in the next few days. Aid supplies are running dangerously low in overcrowded conditions. One newly opened camp, Amriyat al-Falluja, has only one latrine for 1,800 women, the NRC said.

Iraqi soldiers help civilians who have fled Falluja during a dust storm on the outskirts of the city, Iraq​

The government of Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi is already struggling to meet the needs of more than 3.4 million people across the country who have been displaced by conflict. The IS group's self-styled Amaq news agency reported on Sunday that about 50 Iraqi troops had been killed and four army vehicles destroyed in "fierce fighting" with IS fighters near Falluja General Hospital in the north-east of the city. Several civilians have been killed by militants while attempting to escape, including, on Monday, a two-year-old boy who was being carried by his mother. Some residents were reportedly used as human shields by IS to slow the advance of government forces, who are being backed by air strikes from the US-led coalition. IS militants had captured the northern city in January 2014 and held it for longer than any other city in Iraq or Syria - before the Iraqi army launched an operation to retake it.

IS conflict: Falluja 'humanitarian disaster' warning - BBC News

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IS conflict: Iraq's Falluja remains a battleground
Sun, 19 Jun 2016 - The BBC's Ahmed Maher visits the battle-scarred Iraqi city of Falluja, as fighting continues after government forces retook most areas.

We drove into Falluja on a road that snaked through what was once a wealthy suburb but is now deserted. Many homes have been destroyed. On the rooftops of those buildings left standing were soldiers positioned behind sandbags. The Iraqi army and its allies may have retaken most of this city from the so-called Islamic State, but militants are still active in some areas. By the side of the road, unexploded shells showed how dangerous these streets remain for civilians if they are allowed to return. Many tell harrowing escape stories. Some have been caught in crossfire, others drowned in the Euphrates as they tried to swim to safety. Most of the men have been detained for screening by security forces hunting militants. Women and children have been staying in camps around the city. The battle for Falluja, 50km (30 miles) west of Baghdad, began in earnest last month, after a seven-month siege by government forces. The assault has been swift compared with previous operations to retake key cities like Ramadi, Rutba and Tikrit.

Collapsed building in Falluja​

The Iraqi commander leading the Falluja operation, Gen Abdel Wahab al-Saadi, explained how his forces - backed by US-led air strikes - managed to recapture key districts in just four weeks. It was down to "experience and proper planning", he said. "The militants' strategy was based on entrenching their defence lines on the edges of the city, but they suddenly collapsed in the face of our massive force," he told me. The Shia brigades allied with the government have been conspicuous by their absence in the districts we drove through - unlike in surrounding areas. Gen Saadi says his orders from Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi are that "only government forces enter the inner neighbourhoods". The presence of the mainly Shia volunteer units, known as the Popular Mobilisation Forces, is very sensitive in predominantly Sunni cities like Falluja, as it stokes sectarianism amid allegations of abuses committed by some Shia fighters.

Booby traps

We heard the sound of artillery and gunfire wherever we went. "There are few resistance pockets around the city centre but we will finish them off," said Gen Saadi. Asked whether it was safe for our team to visit the government compound, the commander replied: "Of course you cannot." "There is no longer a government compound," he said. "It is flattened. The militants dynamited it alongside many buildings in the city before their escape, and the area there must be full of roadside bombs and improvised explosive devices." Many homes we saw in districts like the southern districts of al-Shuhada and al-Hayakel were destroyed. Officers say most of the destruction has been caused by the booby traps placed by Sunni rebels and IS militants. It is not possible to determine whether the US-led air strikes or the army shelling have also played a role in the destruction.

Nightmare

Most of the civilians in Falluja have been forced to live under IS's harsh rule. They would not dare to revolt. Sunni Muslims suffered marginalisation under the Shia-led government of former Prime Minister Nouri Maliki. But they never imagined that life would be like a nightmare under IS, which took over the city in January 2014. The United Nations estimated that 90,000 civilians were trapped there when the assault began last month. Since the start of the operation, as many as 40,000 people have taken advantage of IS' retreat to flee. Meanwhile, aid workers and volunteers have warned of an unfolding humanitarian crisis because of the severe shortage of food supplies, water and medicine.

IS conflict: Iraq's Falluja remains a battleground - BBC News

 

[CrusaderFrank]

Obama drew down the good guys to let the Islamist back into Fallujah