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Iraqi security forces and allied tribesmen fought al-Qaeda-linked gunmen who, in a coordinated surge, ran rampant in two of the country’s main Sunni cities, Fallujah and Ramadi, emboldened by mounting sectarian tensions between minority Sunnis and the Shiite-led government.
The Defence Ministry released footage on Thursday that showed jets targeting fighters suspected of belonging to the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL), a group linked to al-Qaeda.
Troops hammered the armed groups with Hellfire rockets recently sent by the United States to help the government’s fight against al-Qaida’s Iraq branch, which also operates with increasing strength in Syria’s civil war across the border.
There have been clashes between the Iraqi military and gunmen in Anbar province triggered by the latter’s claiming control of several police stations there just days earlier.
An Interior Ministry official told AFP news agency on Thursday that al-Qaeda-linked fighters were in control of large parts of Fallujah and Ramadi, the provincial capital.
“Half of Fallujah is in the hands of ISIL (al-Qaeda-linked Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) group, and the other half is in the control of armed tribesmen”, the official said.
In central and south Fallujah, witnesses said fighters had also set up checkpoints each manned by six to seven people. “In Ramadi, it is similar —some areas are controlled by ISIL and other areas are controlled by tribesmen, the interior ministry official said, referring to the Anbar provincial capital, which lies farther to the west. — AFP
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