(AP)-In 2003, after US forces invade Iraq, the city of Fallujah emerges as the centre of anti-US resentment in this Sunni Muslim heartland, about 50 kilometres (30 miles) west of Baghdad. The US military beefs up its presence, sending scores of tanks and armoured vehicles into the town. The latest increase in American firepower comes after sustained attacks and ambushes on US troops in the town and surrounding area. The Red Crescent re-opens its offices in Fallujah and begins distributing aid under US protection. But Iraqi resentment remains. The situation is further complicated by the increased use of independent security firms. Security guards of a company, then called Blackwater, are killed and mutilated during a botched mission in Fallujah. US forces continue fighting as ground forces tried to corner the remaining resistance fighters in the city. The city that suffered some of the bloodiest episodes of the Iraq war is back under Iraqi control in 2009 after the departure of American troops. Residents express their joy and the hope of peace. But Fallujah continues to be the target of deadly car bombs, raising questions about the ability of Iraqi security forces to contain violence as US troops withdraw from the region. In 2014, armed masked militants battle with Iraqi security forces and allied Sunni tribal militias for control of Fallujah. The city is taken by the militants who call themselves the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, and are better known now as the Islamic State group or Daesh. Iraqi forces are unable to gain military control over Fallujah which now remains in the hands of the militants and tribal gunmen opposed to the central government. Two years later, civilians start evacuating the area as Iraqi forces start approaching the city. The battle for Fallujah continues.
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