The Iraqi city of Fallujah was recaptured last month by government forces. The Iraqi army says a small number of ISIL fighters remains trapped in Fallujah or controls nearby areas. They're now tasked to clear ISIL remnants in the city.
Iraq's elite Counter Terrorism Service known as the CTS. They’re in Fallujah… supposedly safely back in government hands. But the CTS still have plenty of work to do and I’ve been invited to see Second Lieutenant Anmar Alshamry’s team in action.
"Now we are going to a house to clear the house from terrorists," said 2nd LT. Anmar Ahmed Alshamry Iraqi Counter Terrorism Service.
Always on their guard this Special Operations unit is ready to engage their enemy or deal with hidden explosives. There are no ISIL fighters this time… but they were here, their weapons remain… abandoned as they fled.
"Entered the houses, we found explosion, we found bomb, and we found IED," he said.
Clearing these houses is a slow process. On the roof snipers scan the remnants of a once vibrant city. This man says he spies a head moving in the minaret of a mosque. Keep your eyes on it’ he tells a nearby marksman. In the distance we hear a gun battle with ISIL, which these men call by its Arabic name Daesh.
"The army now is on the other side fighting against Daesh to get the civilians and kill all of Daesh with Iraq Special Forces," he said.
And that's what we’re hearing right now, we can hear gunfire and explosions. How far away is that?
These houses must be cleared to ensure the city is truly secure.
"But it's clear that it will take a long time before the civilian population here can move back into their shattered homes," said Jack Barton Fallujah.
Search operations wind up as night falls. It’s time now to ensure ISIL cannot launch a counter attack under the cloak of darkness. Some of these men have been fighting the militants for more than two years. They’re exhausted, though there will be no respite.
Soon many will head to Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city and ISIL’s last stronghold in Iraq, where they will be at the forefront of operations to end the fanatical group’s self-declared Caliphate in Iraq.
