Iraqi Sheiks Take the Fight to Al Qaeda in Fallujah

[Valin]

The Daily Beast:

The tribal sheiks who aligned with the U.S. military and defeated al Qaeda have been abandoned by their allies as terrorists retake the country. Now theyre getting ready to fight back.

Eli Lake

1.4.13

 

The Iraqi leader of the coalition of Sunni sheiks who helped defeat al Qaeda between 2006 and 2009 in western Iraq now says tribal fighters are preparing for a second act.

 

On Saturday evening, Sheik Ahmed Abu-Risha shared a post on his Facebook page that said Iraqi security forces and other tribesmen were surrounding the city of Fallujah, ready to take back the city from al Qaeda, who earlier this week overtook the citys police stations and government buildings

In an interview with Al-Arabiya, Abu-Risha said, we know their homes (in Fallujah) and we want them to come out so we can fight them.

 

(Snip)

 

But much has changed since then. Americas military is out of Iraq. Until a few months ago, nearly all contact between the U.S. embassy and the anti-al Qaeda sheiks had ceased. In the last year, Al Qaedas affiliate staged a jailbreak in Abu Ghraib, freeing many top leaders, and appeared this week to be on the verge of gaining control of Fallujah.

 

(Snip)

[Valin]

Clashes kill 62 Qaeda militants in Iraq: Militia leader

AFP

January 3, 2014

 

KIRKUK: Iraqi security forces and allied tribesmen killed 62 al Qaeda-linked militants in the Ramadi area west of Baghdad on Friday, a senior leader of the Sahwa militia told AFP.

 

Sheikh Ahmed Abu Risha said 16 members of the al Qaeda and the Levant group were killed in Khaldiyah, east of Ramadi, while 46 more died in the city itself.

 

ISIL militants took control of areas of both Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province, and Fallujah, another city farther east, during days of fighting that broke out after security forces demolished the country’s main Sunni Arab anti-government protest camp.

 

(Snip)

[Valin]

http://youtu.be/AAp9lU_2-lw

Radical Concept
How about getting someone who actually knows something about this instead of the usual DC yapper's?

[Valin]

Iraq: Battles continue for control of Ramadi, Fallujah

Hamza Mustafa

Sunday, 5 Jan, 2014

 

Baghdad, Asharq Al-Awsat—Sunni tribal fighters backed by the Iraqi army continued to battle militants for control of the cities of Ramadi and Fallujah in western Iraq on Saturday and Sunday, following their seizure by militants earlier in the week.

Iraqi security forces bombarded targets reported to be hideouts of members of Al-Qaeda and Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in Bou Faraj village on the outskirts of Ramadi on Saturday, while Sunni members of the Al-Sahwa militias battled militants on the city’s edges on Sunday.

 

Fallujah was reported to be “calm” on Sunday, though militants remain in control of the city center, according to reports by news agencies.

The head of the Iraqi Army’s forces in the province, Lt. Gen. Rasheed Feleih, told Iraqi state TV on Sunday that it would take at least two days to fully secure the cities, and that local tribal fighters were doing most of the fighting, backed by logistical and air support from the regular armed forces.

 

Violence erupted in the cities of Ramadi and Fallujah last week when militants, including members of Al-Qaeda affiliate ISIS, attacked police stations in the cities, expelling Iraqi army troops and police.

 

(Snip)

[clearvision]

This caught my eye:

 

On Saturday evening, Sheik Ahmed Abu-Risha shared a post on his Facebook page....

[Valin]

This caught my eye:

 

On Saturday evening, Sheik Ahmed Abu-Risha shared a post on his Facebook page....

 

 

?

[Geee]

U.S. shipping drones, missiles to Iraqis to fight Al Qaeda

 

Hours after Secretary of State John F. Kerry vowed the U.S. will not send troops again to Iraq, the White House said the administration will send dozens of drones and missiles to aid the Baghdad government against al Qaeda terrorists.

 

“This is something for the Iraqis to take the lead on and handle themselves,” said White House press secretary Jay Carney. “But that doesn’t mean that we cannot assist them, and we have.”

 

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/jan/6/us-shipping-drones-missiles-iraqis-fight-al-qaeda/

[Geee]

Iraq launches air strikes on al-Qaeda

 

The Iraqi military has resorted to air power to to dislodge al-Qaeda militants in Sunni-dominated Anbar province, unleashing airstrikes and besieging the regional capital in fighting that killed at least 34 people, officials said.

Recent gains by the insurgents have been a blow to the Shiite-led government in Baghdad, which has seen sectarian violence rise since the withdrawal of US combat troops in 2011.

John Kerry, the US Secretary of State, said Washington was "very, very concerned" by the fighting but would not send in American troops.

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iraq/10553513/Iraq-launches-air-strikes-on-al-Qaeda.html

[Geee]

John Kerry on Iraq's growing Al Qaeda problem: 'This is their fight'

 

raq's prime minister today called upon the residents of the Al-Qaeda-occupied city of Fallujah to oust the militants, spurring speculation that Iraqi military forces are set to retake the city imminently.

 

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, in a statement released today, asked "the people of Fallujah and its tribes to expel the terrorists" in order to ensure that "their areas are not subjected to the danger of armed clashes," BBC News reports.

 

The gunmen overran the predominantly Sunni city and parts of the surrounding Anbar Province, including nearby Ramadi, last week, prompting hundreds to flee amid ongoing artillery and air strikes by government forces. The militants, members of the Al-Qaeda-linked Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also commonly known by the acronym ISIS), made their move amid ongoing protests in the region against the Shiite-dominated central government, which Sunnis say has marginalized them.

http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Security-Watch/terrorism-security/2014/0106/John-Kerry-on-Iraq-s-growing-Al-Qaeda-problem-This-is-their-fight

[Valin]

Bellavia: Fall of Fallujah is a bitter pill to swallow for Iraq War vets

1/6/14

 

The way David Bellavia sees it, there's no real chance of going back to Fallujah, not that he and few of his fellow Iraq War veterans haven't mentioned the idea in conversation.

 

The news reports of al-Qaida-linked forces capturing Fallujah and Ramadi hasn't sat well with Bellavia, nor the families of those who lost loved ones in battles to secure those cities for Iraq's government, said the Batavia resident who was awarded a Silver Star for his role in liberating Fallujah from insurgents in 2004.

 

"It's a black eye for our foreign policy in the Middle East," Bellavia said. "It's the same group we backed in Syria and not a damn thing was said about it. The enemy in Iraq is the very force that has tried to overthrow Assad. It shows how absolutely difficult the Middle East has become. This administration has decided Iraq is not important. All of the focus is on Afghanistan, so as far as Iraq goes, it's a closed chapter and we move on. For the veterans of that war, it's a bitter pill to swallow."

 

(Snip)

[Valin]