Iraqis launch effort to retake Fallujah

IRBIL, Iraq – Eleven years after U.S. forces launched what’s widely described as the fiercest American military operation since the Vietnam War, Iraqi forces loyal to the government in Baghdad have begun a long-awaited operation to retake the predominantly Sunni Muslim city of Fallujah.

When the Americans set out to capture Fallujah in April 2004, it was under the control of al-Qaida in Iraq, the precursor of the Islamic State, whose fighters have held on to the city for the past 18 months.

This time, the Americans plan only a peripheral role in the coming fight. In the lead now are Iranian-trained and -equipped Shiite Muslim militias – some of whose members, ironically, fought against American forces during the U.S. occupation of their country.

The Iraqi Defense Ministry announced Monday that the militias and loyalist troops had surrounded the city of 500,000 and were beginning operations to capture it.

Iraqi military officials said Monday’s assault, which began after six weeks of preliminary bombardment, had been greeted with heavy resistance from the militants.