The city’s liberation by Iraqi forces represents another major victory
UNIPATH STAFF
Fallujah is the city of mosques and home to many Arab tribes. Its liberation from Daesh by brave Iraqi forces and local tribes in June 2016 returned a sense of normalcy to this historic city of generous guest houses on the banks of the Euphrates. The scent of Arabic coffee mixed with cardamom that once filled the air has now returned. The liberation vanquished Daesh’s sick dream of humiliating the sheikhs, wiping out tribal traditions and demeaning the dignity of the people. The Iraqi flag flies proudly in Fallujah after the defeat of Daesh. The successful operation has united Iraqis.
Unipath interviewed two military leaders behind the liberation: Staff Gen. Talib Shaghati Alkenani, commander of Combined Joint Operations Command, and Staff Lt. Gen. Abd Alwahab Al-Saidi, force commander of the Fallujah operation.
UNIPATH: What made the Fallujah battle different from others?
GEN. ALKENANI: We noticed overwhelming cooperation and collaboration at the highest level among all military forces, police and tribesmen. There was tremendous teamwork among coalition airpower and the Iraqi Air Force and military aviation. All this took place in a fairly crowded and small area, yet we were very precise, maintaining the least collateral damage, and never recorded a single friendly-fire incident. In addition, the battle met all its objectives in record time. It was a courageous battle. We deployed all lessons learned from the past 10 years of war against terror. It’s widely known that counterterrorism is not conventional warfare. Nevertheless, our forces were able to adapt to the battle rhythm and defeat the enemy.
LT. GEN. AL-SAIDI: We had four objectives in liberating the city. The first objective was to evacuate civilians out of harm’s way with limited casualties. We accomplished this with significant success, rescuing approximately 90,000 citizens. The second objective was to conduct the battle with minimum casualties, and we were successful in this. The third was to destroy enemy forces. We met this objective and destroyed the majority of their weapon systems and equipment and cost Daesh 2,500 casualties. The fourth was to protect and avoid damage to infrastructure, which we achieved as well. In addition, we had a desire to meet our objectives in the shortest time possible. We won the battle in 32 days, whereas we had initially estimated it would take 60 days.
UNIPATH: How challenging was the liberation
of Fallujah?
GEN. ALKENANI: The big challenge was that Daesh used innocent civilians as human shields so it could spin its propaganda when civilians were killed during the battle and blame Iraqi Armed Forces. They set explosives on the bridges and inside government institutions and hospitals so that Iraqi forces could take the blame. But we swiftly overran them before they detonated their bombs and defeated their evil plan.
LT. GEN. AL-SAIDI: I agree with Gen. Alkenani that the biggest and most important challenge was protecting civilians and evacuating them from the battlefield. Another challenge was the terrain of the battlespace and the massive number of IEDs on the roads.
UNIPATH: How did your forces perform in the battle?
GEN. ALKENANI: I think the cooperation among the different forces was outstanding. We were fully prepared and ready before the battle. We witnessed harmony among units on the battlefield, whether they were Army, counterterrorism, police, volunteer or tribal units. Such coordination requires training to eliminate friendly fire. We achieved it in record time and attained all phases of our plan.
UNIPATH: Tell us more about coordination between coalition airpower and Iraqi ground forces.
LT. GEN. AL-SAIDI: The role of coalition airpower was tremendous and continued around the clock as the battle progressed. They never delayed in responding to requests. We asked, and a minute later we would hear the roar of the F-18 engines. Coalition airpower completed half of the battle. I also would like to mention the crucial role of reconnaissance aircraft that worked for months before the battle and during the battle to provide details about the enemy’s positions, IEDs, command and control and even the total number of Daesh fighters, which helped us cross-check our intelligence reports.
UNIPATH: Can you provide more details about the evacuation of civilians before the battle?
GEN. ALKENANI: We established a great deal of cooperation with the local governments of Anbar province and other governmental agencies to locate safe havens for internally displaced people (IDP) in Amriyat Al-Fallujah and Habaniya city. We established safe routes by providing air cover over them. The brave men of Army aviation dropped leaflets to guide residents to leave the city using the noted routes.
LT. GEN. AL-SAIDI: Despite Daesh restrictions and checkpoints to keep residents hostage, we were able to destroy their checkpoints and assure safe routes. We provided buses and semi-trucks to move civilians and their belongings. Additionally, we established a committee from military and government agencies to oversee the IDP camps and provide potable water, medicine and food. We requested daily reports during the morning military briefings to track displaced people and camp operations. Fallujah is a crowded city, and the majority of its residents couldn’t flee during the Daesh invasion. They became hostages in the hands of the terrorists. We successfully evacuated approximately 90,000 civilians and freed them from the threat of Daesh torture and beheadings. Our fighters played two roles: fighting Daesh and protecting civilians. Our brave men provided food, water and first aid for the injured civilians. Our forces established a firewall to prevent Daesh from re-entering the residential areas.
UNIPATH: Were there any surprises that made
you alter your plans?
LT. GEN. AL-SAIDI: None at all. We were successful in luring the enemy into following our plan. My goal was to pull them out of their trenches and tunnels. We would fool them by feigning retreats. When they followed us in an attempt to disable our movements, they became easy targets for the Iraqi Air Force and coalition airpower. I would like to express my gratitude to the excellent role of coalition airpower in destroying Daesh’s defenses and formations; they successfully destroyed 60 percent of Daesh’s capabilities.
UNIPATH: How did you deliver humanitarian aid to besieged civilians?
GEN. ALKENANI: Our Soldiers shared their own battle supplies with civilians after they witnessed the harsh living conditions. The terrorists looted the civilians’ stored food supplies and left them and their children starving. This is another vicious crime they committed. Daesh stole food from residents and slept with full stomachs while nearby children wailed with hunger. We saw weak children looking almost like ghosts. We gave orders to field commanders to make fighters check on the civilians in their area of responsibility and provide food and medical attention until the battle was over and responsibilities were handed over to local government. Despite ferocious fighting, military tanker trucks delivered drinking water to civilians.
LT. GEN. AL-SAIDI: We were part of a united effort with the central and local governments. Humanitarian aid was kept in a safe area outside of Fallujah awaiting the end of the battle. Our part was to secure routes and provide security to convoys to reach local government buildings. After my forces reached the heart of Fallujah, they were surprised to see many civilians trapped and seeking urgent help. Our fighters provided water and food and secured their location until we cleared the area and transported them to Amriyat Al-Fallujah IDP camp.
UNIPATH: Did Daesh try to promote a hostile media campaign to counter Iraqi forces?
GEN. ALKENANI: Quite frankly, not only in the Fallujah operation but in all battles to defeat Daesh there are enemy propaganda campaigns spread by sectarian satellite TV stations and Daesh sympathizers. It has become clear to the people that terrorist groups — especially Daesh — exploit media to spread their lies to psychologically impact civilians and the Armed Forces. Thank God, our forces are immune, coherent and aware of Daesh’s tricks. We noticed their misleading propaganda on social media and unfortunately on some regional satellite stations to portray Fallujah as a victim and claim Iraqi forces were targeting residential areas. Luckily we were able to liberate Fallujah swiftly and escort the international media into the city and show the real story to the world. Based on my observation during my drive through Fallujah, damage to infrastructure and residential areas was isolated and limited. During the planning phase we were careful to avoid targeting Daesh locations near residential areas. However, despicable voices tried to deceive the populace and ignite sectarian war in the region. Our citizens realized that the security forces were there to protect them. The counterterrorism units were the first force that entered the city and carried the oldest and sickest citizens on their backs to get them out of harm’s way. The satellite channels showed a soldier crawling in the dirt to form a human step so that a woman from Fallujah could step down from a military truck. Our Soldiers used their vehicles to transport women and children from the fighting areas to safe havens.
UNIPATH: Did the terrorists attempt to flee the battlefield with civilians?
GEN. ALKENANI: After liberating the cities, we conducted normal procedures to count the residents and confirm the young men’s identities to make sure no terrorists were hiding among them. The residents voluntarily provided valuable information about terrorists. Young men stood up bravely and pointed their fingers to a person sitting with them and shouted, “He is Daesh, and he committed crimes against innocents.” Most of the time the person was in fact a terrorist and wanted by law enforcement. This scenario was repeated many times, which confirmed that the residents lived through horrific nights at the hands of Daesh and wanted to report them to our forces. Sometimes the suspected terrorists denied the allegations and defended themselves. However, many people stood up and said, “You are a liar; you killed my brother,” and gave details about the crime. The residents refused to allow the criminals to hide among them.
LT. GEN. AL-SAIDI: Indeed, the residents reported many terrorists. In Fallujah, one of my group commanders was tasked with gathering residents and checking their identities before transporting them to the refugee camp. Fortunately, the counterterrorism media team was filming when a woman stood up and pointed to a young man sitting toward the end and said, “He is Daesh and killed many innocents.” Then people stood up and agreed with her.
UNIPATH: What was the role of tribal fighters in Fallujah?
GEN. ALKENANI: The bravery of tribesmen played a big role in liberating areas. Their presence with liberating forces gave comfort to residents, because these men are their neighbors and brothers. In addition, it established trust between our forces and civilians and countered terrorist lies. With their horrific experiences and what they went through, tribal fighters know the terrorists well, know Daesh’s tactics and its hideouts. They also are experts on battlefield terrain and therefore play an essential role in defeating terror and protecting civilians. These brave men played a significant role in capturing explosives factories and weapon caches and tunnels. They enjoy high morale and fight ferociously in their eagerness to liberate their hometowns.
LT. GEN. AL-SAIDI: I had two battalions from the Anbar police, and they fought bravely with my special operations forces until they received orders to move to Ramadi. We also maintained communication with tribal figures inside the denied areas who provided valuable intelligence that helped pinpoint terrorist hideouts.
UNIPATH: What is the strategic significance of liberating Fallujah?
GEN. ALKENANI: There is symbolic and strategic meaning to Fallujah — the terrorists used it to recruit and boost morale. Defeating them in Fallujah is a huge blow to Daesh. We witnessed significant desertions and collapsing morale in the final stage of the battle. The entire world saw the huge convoy that fled Fallujah and became an easy target for coalition and Iraqi air forces. We refuted the cheap propaganda about their bravery; it is all lies and baseless claims.
LT. GEN. AL-SAIDI: The Fallujah battle united Iraqis and made them proud of their Armed Forces. Most important, this battle destroyed the “undefeatable Daesh legend.” Future battles will be much easier because Daesh lost its logistical capabilities. Fallujah was its “bastion of morale,” and that bastion was defeated and Daesh’s propaganda machine smashed. In an attempt to tarnish the glory of victory, they carried out cowardly attacks on innocents in Karada. But we will make Daesh pay the price for this despicable crime.