On Saturday, after weeks of fighting in the outskirts of the city, Iraqi special forces took control of the central hospital in Fallujah and were clearing mines after driving the Islamic State group away, which was one of its last remaining strongholds in the west of Baghdad, according to army officials. Violent fighting took place in several parts of the city, where U.S. and Iraqi warplanes targeted several IS strategic positions. Militaries had slowly and cautiously progressed towards the hospital, out of  fear that the IS militants would use patients as hostages. However, when they entered the facility, it was empty of patients. The Iraqi flag has now been raised over the building.The Iraqi troops now have control of the Dubbat neighborhood and are trying to get into the northern area of Golan as well as other smaller areas.

In January 2014, Fallujah was the first Iraqi city to fall to the extremist group and was the last important IS stronghold in the Anbar province, the core center of the country's Sunni minority. The extremists still have authority over Iraq's second largest city, Mosul. Humanitarian aid groups estimated that over 50,000 civilians were still inside Fallujah when the assault began a few weeks ago and that since the beginning of the battle, 30,000 to 40,000 of residents fled the city. The majority of those who remained have been staying in camps nearby.

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