Iraqi... (Associated Press) 
 
 Iraqi security forces celebrate as they pose with a flag of the Islamic State group they captured in central Fallujah, Iraq, after fight against the Islamic State militants Friday, June 17, 2016. Iraqi special forces entered the center of Fallujah city early Friday, taking over a government complex and a neighborhood that served as a base for the Islamic State group militants... (Associated Press) 
 
 BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraqi special forces swept into Fallujah on Friday, recapturing most of the city as the Islamic State group's grip crumbled after weeks of fighting. During Friday's push by the government, thousands of residents fled the city, some swimming across the Euphrates river to reach safety. After weeks of heavy battles since the offensive began in late May, it appeared that IS defenses in much of the city collapsed abruptly. Haider al-Obedi told the Associated Press that his troops controlled 80 percent of the city, with IS fighters now concentrated in four districts on its northern edge. It was a major step toward removing the Islamic State group from its last major foothold in Iraq's western Anbar province, the heartland of the country's Sunni minority. The militants overran the city in early 2014, the first urban area to fall into its hands before it overran most of Anbar and much of northern Iraq. Over the past year, Iraqi forces backed by U.S-led airstrikes have city-by-city regained large parts of that territory — though the biggest prize, Iraq's second largest city, Mosul, and surrounding territory in the north, remains in IS control, liked to its holdings in neighboring Syria. On Friday evening, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi spoke on national TV from the joint command center, congratulating the troops on their victories. "We promised to liberate Fallujah, and it has returned to the embrace of the nation," he said. Backed with air support from the US-led coalition and Iraqi air force, the troops were able to move into the center at around 6 a.m. The operation inside the city of Fallujah was being conducted by the Iraqi army, regional and federal police forces as well as special anti-terrorism units. But they were holding back from storming the building, fearing there were patients inside that the militants would use as human shields, he said. Aid groups had estimated that 50,000 civilians had been trapped inside Fallujah when the assault began several weeks ago, and they say that 30,000 to 42,000 of those had fled since then. They have largely been staying in camps in areas around the city. The conflict in Iraq has forced more than 3.3 million people to flee their homes. Iraq is also hosting up to 300,000 refugees who have fled the civil war in neighboring Syria. Most are living in camps or informal settlements.
– Iraqi special forces swept into Fallujah on Friday, recapturing most of the city as ISIS' grip crumbled after weeks of fighting. Thousands of trapped residents took advantage of the militants' retreat to flee, some swimming across the Euphrates River to safety, the AP reports. Residents described harrowing escapes even after ISIS fighters abandoned some checkpoints that had them bottled up in the city. On the river, some boats packed with people overturned in the water. Others picked their way down roads laced with hidden bombs. In some cases, ISIS allowed people to leave only if they took the jihadis' families with them. After weeks of heavy battles since the offensive began in late May, it appeared that ISIS defenses in much of the city collapsed abruptly. Aid groups estimated that 50,000 civilians were trapped inside Fallujah when the assault began several weeks ago, and they say that 30,000 to 42,000 of those have fled since then. The majority have been staying in camps in areas around the city. Iraqi government forces are now clearing mines and explosives left behind by ISIS in recently recaptured areas of Fallujah, as fighting continues in other parts of the city, an Iraqi military official says. The air force is hitting targets in the city including ISIS snipers positioned near the main hospital, Brig. Haider al-Obeidi tells the AP. Troops are advancing toward the hospital cautiously, concerned that militants stationed there may use patients as human shields, he says. (Earlier in the offensive, ISIS targeted fleeing civilians.)