Fallujah strike ‘not possible soon’

RAMADI: It is not currently possible for Iraqi security forces to assault Fallujah, seized by militants last week, as the army deployed reinforcements nearby, the Defense Ministry said Tuesday.
Overnight, security forces failed to recapture south Ramadi from Al-Qaeda-linked militants, while Washington said it would expedite delivery of missiles and surveillance drones to help combat resurgent Al-Qaeda-linked militants.
Parts of Ramadi and all of Fallujah were lost by government forces last week. This is the first time militants have exercised such open control in major cities since the height of the insurgency that followed the 2003 US-led invasion.
“It is not possible to assault it (Fallujah) now” due to concerns about civilian casualties, Defense Ministry spokesman Staff Lt. Gen. Mohammed Al-Askari told AFP.
In Ramadi, farther west, fighters loyal to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) were still holding the south of the city, after fighting off the overnight assault, police said.
“Security forces and armed tribesmen tried last night to enter areas controlled by ISIL fighters in the south of the city,” a police captain in Ramadi told AFP.
“Clashes between the two sides began about 11:00 p.m. (2000 GMT) last night and continued until 6:00 am,” he said, adding that “security forces were not able to enter these areas and ISIL fighters are still in control.”
Four civilians were killed and 14 wounded in the fighting, said Ramadi hospital’s Dr. Ahmed Abdul Salam, who had no casualty figures for security forces or the militants.
Meanwhile, three loud explosions were heard outside Fallujah early Tuesday, a witness said, as the army remained in positions outside the city.
“Today, the army sent new reinforcements, including tanks and vehicles, to an area about 15 km east of Fallujah,” a police captain told AFP.
As violence in Anbar entered its second week, the Pentagon said Washington would accelerate delivery of 100 Hellfire missiles, which were due to be sent to Iraq in the next few months.
Col. Steven Warren said an additional 10 ScanEagle surveillance drones would also be delivered.
Hellfire missiles, originally designed as an anti-tank weapon, can be fired from helicopters and warplanes, while ScanEagle drones are a low-cost three-meter aircraft capable of flying for 24 hours.
Warren said Washington was working with Iraq to develop a “holistic strategy to isolate Al-Qaeda-affiliated groups so the tribes working with the security forces can drive them out of the populated areas.”
But he reiterated statements by US Secretary of State John Kerry that no American forces would enter the fray.
“We’ll not be sending forces to Iraq,” he said.
Instead, the United States will continue to provide intelligence at a “ministerial level” through some 100 military personnel still based at the US Embassy in Baghdad.