Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi is announcing the beginning of military operations to retake Daesh-held held city of Fallujah, west of Baghdad.

In a televised address late Sunday night, al-Abadi said Iraqi forces are "approaching a moment of great victory" against Daesh. Fallujah is about 40 miles (65 kilometers) west of Baghdad.

The announcements follows territorial gains elsewhere by Iraqi ground troops against Daesh, most recently the capture of the western town of Rutba, located 240 miles (380 kilometers) west of Baghdad, on the edge of Anbar province.

Daesh still controls significant patches of Iraqi territory in the country's north and west including the country's second largest city of Mosul.