Sunni tribesman clash with ISIS in Fallujah
Iraqi Sunni tribesmen and Islamic State (ISIS) jihadists engaged each other in deadly clashes in and near ISIS-occupied city of Fallujah in Anbar Province on Friday.
Iraqi army's allied Sunni tribesmen fought ISIS's so-called Al-Hisba group, who enforce the groups strict religious laws in the territories the group control.
The exiled official responsible for Fallujah, Issa Sayir, told AFP that, "Clashes took place between sons of the Al-Mahamda and Al-Juraisat tribes against the Al-Hisba group."
The fighting, he said, took place in Al Jolan to the northwest of the city and expanded to include Al-Askari to the east and the Nazal area in the city-center.
Deteriorating conditions, described by Anbar Governor Sohaib al-Rawi as having "reached a state of famine," seem to be resulting in more tribesmen seeking to oust ISIS from their Sunni Arab-majority province.
The US has urged Baghdad to win the trust of the Sunni tribesmen of Anbar and solicit their help when it comes to uprooting ISIS from Anbar. A policy not unlike the Sahwa, Sunni Awakening, strategy used during the Iraq War against ISIS's al-Qaeda predecessors in that same province.
There are an estimated 300 to 400 ISIS members still in Fallujah. A major Iraqi offensive backed by American-led coalition air-power recently descended on Ramadi last December and retook that provincial capital.
Iraqi army's allied Sunni tribesmen fought ISIS's so-called Al-Hisba group, who enforce the groups strict religious laws in the territories the group control.
The exiled official responsible for Fallujah, Issa Sayir, told AFP that, "Clashes took place between sons of the Al-Mahamda and Al-Juraisat tribes against the Al-Hisba group."
The fighting, he said, took place in Al Jolan to the northwest of the city and expanded to include Al-Askari to the east and the Nazal area in the city-center.
Deteriorating conditions, described by Anbar Governor Sohaib al-Rawi as having "reached a state of famine," seem to be resulting in more tribesmen seeking to oust ISIS from their Sunni Arab-majority province.
The US has urged Baghdad to win the trust of the Sunni tribesmen of Anbar and solicit their help when it comes to uprooting ISIS from Anbar. A policy not unlike the Sahwa, Sunni Awakening, strategy used during the Iraq War against ISIS's al-Qaeda predecessors in that same province.
There are an estimated 300 to 400 ISIS members still in Fallujah. A major Iraqi offensive backed by American-led coalition air-power recently descended on Ramadi last December and retook that provincial capital.