Iraqi
army shells Falluja to try to dislodge Qaeda, tribes
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[January 04, 2014]
BAGHDAD (Reuters) — The Iraqi army
shelled the western city of Falluja with mortar bombs overnight to try
to wrest back control from Sunni Muslim militants and tribesmen, killing
at least eight people, tribal leaders and officials said on Saturday.
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Falluja has been held since Monday by militants linked to al Qaeda
and by tribal fighters united in their opposition to Prime Minister
Nuri al-Maliki, in a serious challenge to the authority of his
Shi'ite-led government in Anbar province.
Medical sources in Falluja said another 30 people were wounded in
shelling by the army.
Al Qaeda's Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) has been
tightening its grip in the Sunni-dominated desert province, near the
Syrian border, in recent months in a bid to create an Islamic state
across the Iraqi-Syrian borders.
In Ramadi, the other main city in Anbar, tribesmen and the army have
worked together to counter al Qaeda militants seeking to take
control.
But in Falluja, ISIL's task has been made easier by the cooperation
of tribesmen, who have joined forces with it against the government.
Tension has been running high in Anbar — once the heart of Iraq's
insurgency after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion — since Iraqi police
broke up a Sunni protest camp on Monday. At least 13 people were
killed in those clashes.
The escalating tension shows the civil war in Syria, where mostly
Sunni rebels are battling President Bashar al-Assad, who is backed
by Shi'ite power Iran, is spilling over to other countries like Iraq
threatening its delicate sectarian balance.
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Officials and witnesses in Falluja said the northern and eastern
parts of the city were under the control of tribesmen and militants
after residents fled the neighborhoods to take refuge from the army
shelling.
Militants have deployed snipers on top of the empty houses and
government buildings to prevent the army from entering the city.
(Reporting by Suadad al-Salhy and Kamal Namaa; Writing by Ahmed
Rasheed; editing by Rania El Gamal, William Maclean and Janet
Lawrence)
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