Iraqi forces take Falluja government building from Islamic State - state TV

Iraqi army soldiers carry their weapons as they gather in the center of Falluja, Iraq, June 17, 2016. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani

FALLUJA/BAGHDAD, Iraq (Reuters) - Iraqi forces on Friday entered the centre of Falluja, the Iraqi city longest held by Islamic State, nearly four weeks after the start of a U.S.-backed offensive that cleared out the tens of thousands of residents still there.

Government troops, supported by multiple air strikes from a U.S.-led coalition, recaptured the municipal building, though the ultra-hardline militants still controlled a significant portion of Falluja, an hour's drive west of Baghdad, and many streets and houses remain mined with explosives.