BAGHDAD — Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced the beginning of military operations to retake the Islamic State-held held city of Fallujah, west of Baghdad, in a televised address late Sunday night. Last month, Iraqi forces cleared territory along Anbar’s Euphrates river valley after the provincial capital Ramadi was declared fully liberated earlier this year. Clashes between protesters and Iraqi security forces inside Baghdad’s highly fortified Green Zone compound left two people dead after security forces fired tear gas, water cannon and live ammunition in an attempt to disperse the crowds. Iraq’s political crisis has left the government deadlocked as security forces struggle to fight the Islamic State group. Fallujah is about 40 miles (65 kilometers) west of Baghdad and has been under the control of IS for more than two years.

Source: Washington Post May 22, 2016 07:15 UTC