ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Iraq said Sunday its forces had surrounded the Islamic State (ISIS) group in the towns of Fallujah and Ramadi in Anbar province, where they had opened a safe corridor for civilians before a planned assault to liberate the territories. “Iraqi joint forces are on the alert to liberate the embattled towns of Fallujah and Ramadi in Anbar, but no timeframe has been set yet,” said Brig. Yahia Rasoul, a spokesman of Iraq’s defense ministry. “The forces are considering the lives of civilians as thousands of innocents remain inside the towns,” he said in a statement, adding that a safe corridor was being opened for civilians to leave Ramadi. “In the past we were concerned about the innocent people in these areas, but for the coming military campaign we need victory at any cost,” Rasoul declared, in an apparent warning that large casualties are expected. Meanwhile, the Anbar Operations Command announced a similar safe corridor in Fallujah. “The Falahat path in the west of Falluijah will be helpful for the people of Fallujah and the sub-district of Saqlawiyah to flee,” said Falih Issawi, a member of the Anbar provincial council. After fleeing in the face of advancing ISIS fighters last summer, Iraqi forces have been fighting the Sunni militants with the help of the Shiite Hashd al-Shaabi militia, which is backed by Iran. “There is a solid plan to liberate the ISIS-controlled towns of Ramadi and Fallujah, and the Iraqi joint forces have good cooperation among themselves, including between the Hashd al-Shaabi tribal militias and the Iraqi Army,” Jasim Matiwti, a member of the Iraqi parliament’s Security and Defense Committee told Rudaw earlier. “Due to the random bombardments of the Iraqi fighter jets against ISIS positions inside Fallujah, more than 3,100 civilians have been killed and 575 others wounded -- including women and children -- since June last year,” he said. According to information obtained by Rudaw, more than 85 percent of Anbar province – Iraq’s largest -- is held by ISIS. Sunni-majority Fallujah, 69 kilometers west of Baghdad, has been under ISIS control since last summer. It has been besieged by the Iraqi Army, which has been continuously shelling the city to weaken the extremists. ISIS seized control of Ramadi in mid-May, sending Iraqi forces racing out of the city in a major loss that came despite weeks of US-led airstrikes targeting the extremists. A day after the ISIS advance on Ramadi, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi ordered forces not to abandon their positions across Anbar. There were fears the extremists could capture the entire vast Sunni province, which saw intense fighting after the 2003 US-led invasion of the country to topple dictator Saddam Hussein.
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