Gov’t stalls Falluja assault ”to protect civilians”

Iraq has delayed its assault on the city of Falluja because of fears for the safety of civilians, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said on Wednesday, as his forces halted at the city’s edge in the face of ferocious resistance from Islamic State fighters. Abadi’s decision to halt, two days after elite Iraqi troops poured into […]

Iraq has delayed its assault on the city of Falluja because of fears for the safety of civilians, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said on Wednesday, as his forces halted at the city’s edge in the face of ferocious resistance from Islamic State fighters.
Abadi’s decision to halt, two days after elite Iraqi troops poured into the city’s rural southern outskirts, postpones what was expected to be one of the biggest battles ever fought against Islamic State.
The government, backed by world powers including the United States and Iran, has vowed to win back the first major Iraqi city that fell to the group in 2014.
“It would have been possible to end the battle quickly if protecting civilians wasn’t among our priorities,” Abadi told military commanders at the operations room near the frontline in footage broadcast on state television.
“Thank God, our units are at the outskirts of Falluja and victory is within reach.”