A senior Iraqi military commander says about 2,500 Islamic State (IS) militants have been killed during a month-long offensive to recapture the city of Fallujah.
The counterterrorism forces’ chief in the operation, Lieutenant General Abdul-Wahab al-Saadi, told the local al-Sumaria TV late on Monday that the number of IS fighters inside Fallujah ranged between 3,500 to 4,000 when the offensive began late last month.
Iraqi troops have not disclosed their losses in Fallujah although the IS group claims to have killed dozens.
Al-Saadi offered no specifics to back up the figure of 2,500 killed IS fighters. He also said that about 15 percent of them were foreign fighters.
He cited Iraqi police reports as saying 1,086 IS-linked suspects have been arrested.
Iraqi special forces on Monday said they are closing in on remaining IS strongholds, but that their progress has been slowed by snipers hiding in residential buildings.
Iraqi special forces Brigadier General Haider al-Obeidi told reporters he hopes to clear the Islamic State group out of Fallujah completely “in the coming few days.”
IS militants still control the northern Golan neighborhood as well as other scattered pockets, where they are largely surrounded.
Al-Obeidi said Iraqi fighters who know the terrain and can blend in with local residents have largely melted away, leaving behind foreign fighters who have little choice but to fight to the death.
“The Iraqis, they know how to escape, but for the foreigners, they can only surrender or die,” al-Obeidi said.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on Friday last week declared victory in Fallujah.
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