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| Iraqi tribesmen and troopsb attack Islamist militants in Ramadi | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Sunni Muslim tribesmen backed by Iraqi troops are fighting al-Qaida-linked militants for control of the western province of Anbar in a critical test of strength for the Shia-led government. | Sunni Muslim tribesmen backed by Iraqi troops are fighting al-Qaida-linked militants for control of the western province of Anbar in a critical test of strength for the Shia-led government. |
| Dressed in black and waving al-Qaida flags, hundreds of Islamist insurgents using machine guns and pick-up trucks mounted with anti-aircraft guns battled tribesmen in the streets of Ramadi on Friday, witnesses, security officials and tribal sources said. | Dressed in black and waving al-Qaida flags, hundreds of Islamist insurgents using machine guns and pick-up trucks mounted with anti-aircraft guns battled tribesmen in the streets of Ramadi on Friday, witnesses, security officials and tribal sources said. |
| The deployment of tribesmen against the militants was made possible by a deal that tribal leaders struck with the Baghdad government late on Thursday to try to counter al-Qaida, which has seized government buildings and police stations in Ramadi and the province's other main city, Falluja, tribal leaders said. | The deployment of tribesmen against the militants was made possible by a deal that tribal leaders struck with the Baghdad government late on Thursday to try to counter al-Qaida, which has seized government buildings and police stations in Ramadi and the province's other main city, Falluja, tribal leaders said. |
| Al-Qaida'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. | Al-Qaida'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-Qaida keep any foothold in Anbar," said one tribal leader. "The battle is fierce and not easy because they are hiding inside residential areas." | |
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