Daesh Uses Civilians as Human Shields in Besieged Iraqi Fallujah

The militants of the Daesh terrorist group use civilians in the western Iraqi city of Fallujah besieged by government forces as human shields, Special Presidential Envoy for the Global Coalition to Counter the Daesh Brett McGurk said Wednesday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The Iraqi Army and Shiite militias, backed by US airstrikes, launched the offensive to retake Fallujah on May 22.

#ISIL terrorists continue to use innocent civilians as human shields in #Falluja and threatening to execute anyone leaving the city.

— Brett McGurk (@brett_mcgurk) June 7, 2016

​He added that pressure on the positions of IS militants in the region would be strengthened.

Fallujah, located some 42 miles west of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, is one of the largest cities in the Anbar province. The IS, outlawed in many countries including Russia and the United States, has been in control of the city since 2014.

Displaced Iraqi women, who fled Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province, after it was seized by the Islamic State (IS) group, wait to get aid boxes at a makeshift camp for internally displaced persons (IDP) in Ameriyat al-Fallujah, 30 km south of Fallujah on June 6, 2015

© AFP 2023 / AHMAD AL-RUBAYE