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Iraqi forces have launched a major offensive to retake the Islamic State bastion of Fallujah, ending a months-long siege of the city.

Fallujah was the first city in Iraq to fall to IS extremists in January 2014 and the group is well entrenched.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said Iraqi forces were “approaching a moment of great victory.”

“The Iraqi flag will be raised high over the land of Fallujah,” Abadi declared on national television Sunday night.

Iraq's military has called on residents trapped in the city to mark their locations with white flags.

Very few families have managed to escape the city in the past months despite government attempts to open safe corridors.

Fallujah is a traditional Sunni stronghold.

U.S. airstrikes have been pounding IS targets in and around the city for weeks.