Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has announced a military operation to retake the Islamic State stronghold of Fallujah.

“Zero hour for the liberation of Fallujah has arrived. The moment of great victory has drawn near and Daesh has no choice but to flee,” he said on his official Twitter feed on Monday, using an Arabic acronym for the jihadist group.

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Fallujah is about 65km west of Baghdad. The announcements follows territorial gains elsewhere by Iraqi ground troops against IS, most recently the capture of the western town of Rutba, located 380km west of Baghdad, on the edge of Anbar province.

– More to come.