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A Respite, Then Mayhem, as Qaeda-Aligned Militants Fight for Key Iraqi Cities Qaeda-Aligned Militants in Iraq Claim Falluja as Independent State
(about 3 hours later)
BAGHDAD — Days of fighting between black-clad Qaeda militants and Iraq’s security forces took a short-lived respite on Friday as a veneer of calm returned to Falluja, where traffic police and street cleaners resumed work and mosque loudspeakers exhorted stores to reopen so hungry residents could buy food. BAGHDAD — Black-clad Sunni militants of Al Qaeda destroyed the Falluja police headquarters and mayor’s office, planted their flag atop other government buildings and decreed the western Iraqi city to be their new independent state on Friday in an escalating threat to Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, whose forces were struggling to retake control late into the night.
But just as quickly, the calm evaporated when the militants appeared at the close of Friday Prayer – which had been moved by local imams to a public park, away from the combat zones – and seized the stage, waving the Qaeda flag and daring the Iraqi authorities to evict them. The advances by the militants, members of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria or ISIS, came after days of fighting in Falluja, Ramadi and other areas of Iraq’s Anbar province, a center of Sunni extremism that has grown more intense in reaction to Mr. Maliki’s Shiite-dominated government in Baghdad and the neighboring civil war in Syria.
Assertions by ISIS fighters that they were in complete control of Falluja were disputed by government security forces and an alliance of tribal leaders who have joined them. By nightfall, the security forces and tribal militia members had recaptured a part of the main street and a municipal building.
Mohamed al-Isawi, the head of the Falluja police, said in a telephone interview that he was gathering men in an area north of Falluja, as a staging ground for what he hoped would be a decisive battle to retake full control of the city.
“We succeeded today with the tribesmen in getting back the main street of Falluja after a big fight,” Mr. Isawi said, “and now we are keen to fight the terrorists and liberate our city from any traces of the criminals.”
But ISIS fighters still appeared to have the upper hand, witnesses and others reached by telephone said, and there was no question that ISIS had scored a propaganda victory against Mr. Maliki, whose authority over Anbar province has been severely undermined in the two years since American forces left the country.
ISIS fighters cut power lines in Falluja late in the day, and ordered residents not to use their backup generators. In one area of Falluja, a militant said over a mosque loudspeaker: “We are God’s rule on Earth! No one can defeat God’s will!”
The ISIS advance came hours after a short period of calm had returned to the city, where traffic police and street cleaners resumed work during the day and mosque loudspeakers exhorted stores to reopen so hungry residents could buy food.
The calm evaporated when the militants appeared at the close of Friday Prayer – which had been moved by local imams to a public park, away from the combat zones – and seized the stage, waving the Qaeda flag and daring the Iraqi authorities to evict them.
“We declare Falluja as an Islamic state, and we call on you to be on our side!” one fighter shouted to the crowd, according to witness accounts.“We declare Falluja as an Islamic state, and we call on you to be on our side!” one fighter shouted to the crowd, according to witness accounts.
Referring to Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki’s Shiite-dominated government and its Shiite ally, Iran, the fighter shouted, “We are here to defend you from the army of Maliki and the Iranian Safavids,” a reference to the Persian Empire that ruled present-day Iran and Iraq hundreds of years ago. Referring to Mr. Maliki’s government and its Shiite ally Iran, the fighter shouted, “We are here to defend you from the army of Maliki and the Iranian Safavids!” a reference to the Persian Empire that ruled present-day Iran and Iraq hundreds of years ago.
“We welcome the return of all workers, even the local police, but they have to be under our state and our rule,” he shouted. “We welcome the return of all workers, even the local police, but they have to be under our state and our rule!” he shouted.
From that moment, mayhem resumed in Falluja and other areas of Sunni-dominated Anbar Province, including in its largest city, Ramadi, in an escalating fight. The resumed fighting included other areas of Anbar Province, including its largest city, Ramadi.
It has pitted Qaeda-affiliated Sunni extremists, who now control large amounts of territory in the desert province, against the security forces of the Shiite-dominated central government, backed by local tribesmen who are not strong supporters of the government but, in this struggle, have decided to side with the army and police against Al Qaeda.It has pitted Qaeda-affiliated Sunni extremists, who now control large amounts of territory in the desert province, against the security forces of the Shiite-dominated central government, backed by local tribesmen who are not strong supporters of the government but, in this struggle, have decided to side with the army and police against Al Qaeda.
The fight has become a severe test of Prime Minister Maliki’s ability to keep the country together and prevent a full-scale eruption of civil war. The fight has become a severe test of Mr. Maliki’s ability to keep the country together and prevent a full-scale eruption of civil war.
The combat scenes that have played out in Anbar, which had been the heart of the Sunni insurgency during the American occupation and where more than 1,300 American soldiers were killed, have provided the sharpest evidence yet of a country descending into a maelstrom of violence, just two years after the departure of the last United States soldiers.The combat scenes that have played out in Anbar, which had been the heart of the Sunni insurgency during the American occupation and where more than 1,300 American soldiers were killed, have provided the sharpest evidence yet of a country descending into a maelstrom of violence, just two years after the departure of the last United States soldiers.
For the Qaeda militants in Iraq, who are fighting under the same name as the most extremist Sunni rebels in neighboring Syria, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, the gains they have made in Anbar represent a significant step toward realizing the long-held goal of transforming Iraq and Syria into one battlefield for the same cause: establishing a Sunni Islamist state. For the Qaeda militants in Iraq, who are fighting under the same name as the most extremist Sunni rebels in Syria, the gains they have made in Anbar appear to represent a significant step toward realizing the long-held goal of transforming Iraq and Syria into one battlefield for the same cause: establishing a Sunni Islamist state.
As fighting resumed on Friday, militants blew up several government buildings in Falluja, including the police headquarters, the local council and office of the mayor, according to a security official. Militants also retook areas that had been liberated by security forces and their tribal allies. In one reclaimed area of Falluja, a militant said over a mosque loudspeaker, “We are God’s rule on Earth, no one can defeat God’s will!” Falluja residents reached by telephone late Friday said they had been traumatized by the seesaw battle around them.
Sheikh Majed al-Jerasi, a tribal leader whose men are fighting with the government, said that in his area of Falluja on Friday, tribesmen and police commanders regrouped after the fighting resumed, and then stormed the main street of the city, retaking a municipal building, where by nightfall his men were holed up. “We are scared, my kids keep crying from the sounds of shelling,” said Azher Qasim. “I have a sick son, and I need to buy medication for him, and no stores are open. We have no food, or heat, and our only light is candles.”
At night, Mohamed al-Isawi, the head of the Falluja police, said in a telephone interview that he was gathering men in an area north of Falluja, as a staging ground for what he hoped would be a decisive battle to retake full control of the city. He added, “We might die any time from a rocket, or a gunman storming our house.”
“We succeeded today with the tribesmen in getting back the main street of Falluja after a big fight,” he said, “and now we are keen to fight the terrorists and liberate our city from any traces of the criminals.”
But on Friday night, many signs suggested the militants still had the advantage, as they blew up power stations in Ramadi and Falluja and ordered residents not to run their generators, plunging the cities into almost total darkness.
“We are scared, my kids keep crying from the sounds of shelling,” said Azher Qasim, a Falluja resident reached by phone Friday evening. “I have a sick son, and I need to buy medication for him, and no stores are open. We have no food, or heat, and our only light is candles.”
He added, “We might die any time from a rocket, or a gunmen storming our house.”
An Iraqi special forces soldier reached by telephone on Friday said he was holed up with his men at a college campus in Ramadi, sending targeting information for airstrikes to superiors. The soldier, who spoke on the condition that his name not be used, described fierce fighting on Friday, and said his patrol had been targeted by suicide bombers.An Iraqi special forces soldier reached by telephone on Friday said he was holed up with his men at a college campus in Ramadi, sending targeting information for airstrikes to superiors. The soldier, who spoke on the condition that his name not be used, described fierce fighting on Friday, and said his patrol had been targeted by suicide bombers.
“We have orders to kill any gunmen in the street,” he said. “When we catch one, we kill him immediately. There is no arrest.”“We have orders to kill any gunmen in the street,” he said. “When we catch one, we kill him immediately. There is no arrest.”
The soldier said he had been facing some of the most intense fighting of his life.The soldier said he had been facing some of the most intense fighting of his life.
“We have been here for six days, fighting everywhere and storming cities and police stations all over Anbar,” he said. “When we first entered Ramadi, it was like hell opened a door. They were shooting at us from everywhere. For me, I have one idea in my mind – that I have to fight with no mercy, or I will die.”“We have been here for six days, fighting everywhere and storming cities and police stations all over Anbar,” he said. “When we first entered Ramadi, it was like hell opened a door. They were shooting at us from everywhere. For me, I have one idea in my mind – that I have to fight with no mercy, or I will die.”
The Iraqi government has reportedly used airstrikes, from Russian helicopters the government recently bought.The Iraqi government has reportedly used airstrikes, from Russian helicopters the government recently bought.
Since the withdrawal of American soldiers at the end of 2011, the United States, in an effort to influence the Iraqi government, has maintained a multibillion-dollar program to sell weapons to the Iraqis. But the slow pace and bureaucracy involved – not to mention that many of the weapons, such as F-16 fighter jets, have little practical use against Qaeda cells – has frustrated the Iraqis, who have increasingly looked elsewhere, especially Russia.Since the withdrawal of American soldiers at the end of 2011, the United States, in an effort to influence the Iraqi government, has maintained a multibillion-dollar program to sell weapons to the Iraqis. But the slow pace and bureaucracy involved – not to mention that many of the weapons, such as F-16 fighter jets, have little practical use against Qaeda cells – has frustrated the Iraqis, who have increasingly looked elsewhere, especially Russia.
More recently, as the Sunni insurgency has gained strength, the United States has said it was rushing missiles and surveillance drones to Iraq.More recently, as the Sunni insurgency has gained strength, the United States has said it was rushing missiles and surveillance drones to Iraq.
By Friday evening, reports emerged from contested areas in Anbar of government shelling and civilian casualties. An official at a hospital in Falluja said the hospital had received the bodies of three civilians killed in the shelling and had tended to 30 others who were wounded, including at least four children. Late Friday, security officials in Anbar said that 86 people had been killed in the day's fighting, and that 150 others were wounded. It was not immediately clear how many of those were civilians. By Friday evening, reports emerged from contested areas in Anbar of government shelling and civilian casualties. An official at a hospital in Falluja said the hospital had received the bodies of three civilians killed in the shelling and had tended to 30 others who were wounded, including at least four children. Late Friday, security officials in Anbar said that 86 people had been killed in the day’s fighting, and that 150 others were wounded. It was not immediately clear how many of those were civilians.
Heavy fighting also afflicted the western edge of Ramadi, according to a police official, and in one battle alone, the official said, 17 militants were killed and seven trucks belonging to the insurgents destroyed.Heavy fighting also afflicted the western edge of Ramadi, according to a police official, and in one battle alone, the official said, 17 militants were killed and seven trucks belonging to the insurgents destroyed.

Yasir Ghazi reported from Baghdad, and Tim Arango from Istanbul. An employee of The New York Times contributed reporting from Anbar Province.

Yasir Ghazi reported from Baghdad, and Tim Arango from Istanbul. An employee of The New York Times contributed reporting from Anbar Province.