Sunni Muslim tribesmen backed by Iraqi troops are fighting al Qaeda-linked militants for control of Iraq's western province of Anbar, in a critical test of strength for the Shi'ite-led government of Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki.
Dressed in black and waving al Qaeda flags, hundreds of Islamist insurgents using machine guns and pick-up trucks mounted with anti-aircraft guns yesterday battled tribesmen in the streets of the city of Ramadi.
The deployment of tribesmen against the militants was made possible by a deal tribal leaders struck with the Baghdad government late on Thursday to try to counter al Qaeda, which has seized government buildings and police stations in Ramadi and the province's other main city Falluja.
Al Qaeda's Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) has been tightening its grip in Anbar, near the Syrian border, in recent months in a bid to create an Islamic state across the Iraqi-Syrian borders.
"Isil fighters want to keep their foothold that they have got in the past months but there is no way to let al Qaeda keeps any foothold in Anbar," said one tribal leader, who asked not to be named.
"The battle is fierce and not easy because they are hiding inside residential areas."
On Thursday Sunni Muslim fighters clashed with Iraqi troops trying to regain control of Falluja and Ramadi after police broke up a Sunni protest camp on Monday, leaving at least 13 dead.
Thousands of anti-government tribal fighters took over local government buildings in Falluja and Ramadi on Wednesday after the army pulled back in an attempt to calm the situation.
Fighting broke out on Thursday when the army tried to re-enter the cities.
Islamist militants linked to al Qaeda also stormed police stations in Anbar, seizing weapons caches, freeing dozens of prisoners and burning down the stations after chasing out the police and letting in looters.
Sunni anger at the Shi'ite-led government's crushing of the protest movement has inflamed Iraq's deep-seated sectarian tensions.
The dismantled camp in Anbar had been an irritant to Mr Maliki since it was set up a year ago by Sunnis protesting against what they see as the marginalizing of their sect.
Iraq's minority Sunnis held most positions of power under the late Saddam Hussein, and they are resentful of Shi'ite dominance since the invasion that toppled him in 2003 and led to elections that shifted the balance in favour of the majority sect.
A Sunni tribe in Anbar threatened to "set Iraq on fire" if Mr Maliki's government did not free Ahmed al Alwani, a prominent Sunni lawmaker from the Iraqiya bloc who was arrested last Saturday on terrorism charges.
Yesterday troops hammered the militants with Hellfire rockets recently sent by the United States to help the government's fight against al Qaeda's Iraq branch, which also operates with increasing strength in Syria's civil war across the border.
On Thursday evening outside Anbar a pick-up truck laden with explosives blew up on a busy commercial street in the city of Balad Ruz, 45 miles northeast of Baghdad, destroying several shops.
At least 19 people were killed and 37 were wounded, according to security and health officials.
Isil, formerly al Qaeda's affiliate in Iraq but now based in Syria, is said to be behind the suicide bombings, mostly against Shias, that made the 2013 civilian death toll in Iraq the worst in years.
While many of the bombings have been launched from across the Syrian border, the group has also exploited Sunni grievances against the Shia-led government.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article