The Fall of Fallujah was a battle in the city of
Fallujah in western
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...
that took place from late 2013 to early 2014, in which ISIL and other Sunni insurgents captured the city of Fallujah. It was one of the first Iraqi cities to fall out of the control of the Iraqi Government, and resulted in the
Anbar campaign.
Battle
On 30 December 2013, Iraqi forces dismantled a Sunni protest camp, which angered many people. Gunmen proceeded to attack deployed army patrols on the highway.
On 2 January 2014,
Al-Qaeda seized control of parts of the town, as well as nearby Ramadi. After the army withdrew from the area
ISIS
Isis (; ''Ēse''; ; Meroitic: ''Wos'' 'a''or ''Wusa''; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎, romanized: ʾs) was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kin ...
fighters and its allies entered both cities. Many videos showed ISIS forces clashing with police forces, and ISIS attacks and seizures on the main police station. 100 inmates were freed, weapons and ammunition were seized, and most police forces abandoned their posts.
On January 3, the town was reportedly under the control of Sunni Rebels, but Iraq said the city remained contested. The rebels set police vehicles ablaze and brandished their weapons. The rebels raised their flag in Fallujah, took over all police stations, and military posts after security forces left the city.
On January 4, the town was taken by Sunni Rebels and Al-Qaeda fighters. The Iraqi army shelled the city with mortars in an attempt to wrestle back the town, but resulted in the deaths of 8 people and wounded 30. 60% of the town was reported to be under rebel control. Much later, Prime Minister
Nouri al-Maliki
Nouri Kamil Muhammad-Hasan al-Maliki ( ar, نوري المالكي; born 20 June 1950), also known as Jawad al-Maliki (), is secretary-general of the Islamic Dawa Party and was the prime minister of Iraq from 2006 to 2014 and the vice president ...
vowed to eliminate "all terrorist groups" in a statement on national television. The police chief of the Anbar said that Iraqi forces were in control of the outskirts of Fallujah, but the city itself was held by ISIS and its allies. Sunni tribesmen refused to let Iraqi forces into the city, but held negotiations with them. Iraqi forces proceeded to shell the city from a nearby military base, before eventually withdrawing.
Aftermath
Four months later, the
War in Iraq
This is a list of wars involving the Republic of Iraq and its predecessor states.
Other armed conflicts involving Iraq
* Wars during Mandatory Iraq
** Ikhwan raid on South Iraq 1921
* Smaller conflicts, revolutions, coups and periphery confli ...
of 2013 to 2017 escalated. Two years later, Iraqi Government recaptured the city.
See also
*
Fall of Mosul
The Fall of Mosul occurred between 410 June 2014, when Islamic State insurgents, initially led by Abu Abdulrahman al-Bilawi, captured Mosul from the Iraqi Army, led by Lieutenant General Mahdi Al-Gharrawi.
On 4 June, the insurgents began their ...
*
Second Battle of Tikrit
The Second Battle of Tikrit was a battle in which Iraqi Security Forces recaptured the city of Tikrit (the provincial capital of the Saladin Governorate) from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). Iraqi forces consisted of the Iraq ...
*
Anbar campaign (2015–2016)
*
Battle of Ramadi (2014–2015)
The Battle of Ramadi, also called the Fall of Ramadi, was part of an ISIL offensive to capture all of the Anbar Province. Ramadi was one of the Iraqi government's last strongholds in Anbar, after ISIL's success in a previous campaign. The battle ...
*
Battle of Ramadi (2015–2016)
The Battle of Ramadi was a battle launched by the forces of Iraq to successfully recapture the city of Ramadi from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), which had taken the city earlier in 2015 in a previous battle. Air power was a m ...
*
List of wars and battles involving ISIL
The following is a list of conflicts involving the jihadist militant group known as the Islamic State (IS/ISIL/ISIS/Daesh), throughout its various incarnations. The group controlled portions of territory in Iraq and Syria in the mid-2010s and ha ...
References
Conflicts in 2013
Conflicts in 2014
Military operations of the Iraqi Civil War in 2014
Military operations of the War in Iraq (2013–2017) involving the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
Military operations of the War in Iraq (2013–2017) involving the al-Nusra Front
December 2013 events in Iraq
January 2014 events in Iraq
Battles in 2013
Fallujah, Fall of
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