The Iraqi army entered Islamic State-held Fallujah in a major dawn offensive yesterday as it made its "final push" to recapture the city from the terrorist jihadists. Troops managed to push into Fallujah's urban areas for the first time since the operation began a week ago.With the help of an Iran-backed Shia militia and air support from the US-led coalition, the army said it had control of 80% of the villages around Fallujah and was now focused on retaking the city itself.About 1500 IS fighters hanging on in the city centre, which has been under their control for more than two years, were reported to be putting up fierce resistance.They attempted to distract the army with a wave of deadly car-bomb attacks in Baghdad 80km away, which left dozens dead.The commander of the offensive warned that the battle for the strategic city was likely to be protracted."They are dug in," Lieutenant-GeneralAbdul Wahab al-Saadi said. "We think they will fight to the last."In a televised speech to parliament, Haider al-Abadi, Iraq's prime minister, called on Fallujah's 50000 trapped residents to stay indoors.For most of those living in the centre however leaving is not an option, as Isil is threatening anyone who tries to flee with execution.Abu Mohammed al-Dolaimi, one of the sheikhs of Fallujah, said dozens of civilians caught escaping had been shot by snipers.A mother who fled with her husband and six children said: "When the attack started, IS forced us to leave our homes."On our last day the fighting became fierce. They were shooting above our heads," she said from a camp near Fallujah run by the Norwegian Refugee Council.Many of those arriving at the camps had walked for kilometres through desert with little food or water. The council said the number of displaced people was likely to grow as the fighting intensified.Fallujah is one of IS's major strongholds in Iraq and one of two urban centres, along with Mosul, held by the group.Lieutenant-General Sean MacFarland, who commands US forces and their allies in Iraq, warned that some of the city's residents had been "early adopters" of IS "so we could have a fairly large percentage that are hostile to us".Fallujah is an important religious hub for Iraq's Sunni minority and has been at the heart of the insurgency against the Shia-led government. Residents are likely to be hostile to the city being taken over with the help of militias loyal to Shia Teheran."The role played by militias means that there will be parts of the Sunni population that will see IS as the lesser evil," said Kyle Orton, a Middle East analyst at the UK think-tank the Henry Jackson Society. ..