TEMPO.CO, Baghdad - Missile strikes in Ramadi, Anbar province, killed 25 people on Tuesday, according to a spokesman for the Iraqi Ministry of Defense. The attack was meant to weaken Al-Qaeda forces in the area that seek to control the largest province in Iraq.
Al-Qaeda fighters called the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) is now in full control of Fallujah. They warned local people that they would suffer the consequences, if they supported the Iraqi government.
"It is not possible to attack [Fallujah] now due to concerns about civilian casualties," Staff Lieutenant-General Mohammed al-Askari, a Defense Ministry spokesman, told AFP news agency.
After Ramadi, the Iraqi military plans to launch a massive attack at Fallujah, with help from local tribe chiefs and the United States. "Today, [the US army] sent new reinforcements, including tanks and vehicles, to an area about 15km east of Fallujah," a police captain told AFP.
AL JAZEERA | CHOIRUL