Recapture of Southern Fallujah; Discovery of Mass Grave

Two weeks after the start of the operation to recapture the city of Fallujah, Iraqi military officials say that special forces of the Iraqi army have now fully taken control of the southern outskirts of Fallujah. Iraqi forces are trying to regain control of Fallujah from the Islamic State (ISIS) with the air support of the US coalition, but according to the Associated Press, this operation has faced difficulties due to heavy resistance from ISIS fighters and the entrapment of about 50,000 civilians inside the city, causing the operation to progress slowly since last week. Nevertheless, General Abdulwahab al-Saadi, commander of the Iraqi army's special forces, told the Associated Press on Monday that his forces have completely taken control of the al-Naimiya neighborhood and are now preparing to enter the city limits of Fallujah. On the other hand, some families who managed to escape from Fallujah report that ISIS snipers are shooting at anyone attempting to flee the city; reports indicate that ISIS is trying to use civilians in the city as 'human shields.' Meanwhile, according to Agence France-Presse, the Iraqi army announced that on Sunday, June 5, a mass grave was discovered in the town of al-Suqlawea, northwest of Fallujah, containing approximately 400 bodies. According to Iraqi officials, this mass grave was discovered during a mine-clearing operation, and the bodies buried there belong to Iraqi soldiers and civilians who were killed by the Islamic State (ISIS) in 2014 and 2015; reports suggest that most of these individuals were executed in the field with shots to the head. On Monday, Hadi al-Amiri, the Secretary-General of the Badr Organization, the largest Shiite militia group in Iraq, criticized the 'lack of precise planning' in the Fallujah battle and stated that the Iraqi government is transferring some equipment from Fallujah to the Mosul front in northern Iraq. If the operation to recapture Fallujah (located 50 kilometers west of Baghdad) is successful, this city will be the third major city reclaimed by the Iraqi army after Tikrit and Ramadi. The Fallujah operation coincides with two other operations against ISIS; one is the operation of Kurdish and Arab forces supported by the US in Manbij, Syria, and the other is the Syrian army's offensive against Raqqa, the main center of ISIS.