Key Facts
- Operation start date
- 22 May 2016
- City recaptured
- 26 June 2016
- Distance from Baghdad
- 69 kilometres (43 mi) west
- Siege duration before operation
- ~3 months prior to 22 May 2016
- Operation code name
- Operation Breaking Terrorism
Strategic Narrative Overview
The offensive, code-named Operation Breaking Terrorism, was launched on 22 May 2016 by Iraqi government forces. Fighting progressed through the city's districts over roughly five weeks, with Iraqi forces systematically pushing into urban areas held by ISIL defenders. By 26 June 2016, the main city had been retaken, and within two further days, a remaining pocket of ISIL resistance in the western outskirts was also eliminated.
01 / The Origins
Fallujah had been under ISIL control since January 2014, making it one of the first major Iraqi cities seized by the group. Its location roughly 69 kilometres west of Baghdad gave ISIL a strategic base threatening the capital. Iraqi security forces began a total siege of the city approximately three months before launching the formal offensive, cutting off supply routes and isolating the ISIL garrison.
03 / The Outcome
Iraqi forces declared full control of Fallujah and its surrounding areas by late June 2016. The recapture removed ISIL from one of its longest-held urban strongholds in Iraq and restored government authority over Anbar Province's second-largest city. The operation was considered a significant operational success in the broader Iraqi campaign to roll back ISIL territorial gains across the country.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Side B
1 belligerent
Kinetic Engagement Axis
Scroll horizontally to view full axis. Events plotted relatively.