BAGHDAD
Iraqi security forces are preparing to stage an all-out offensive in the central city of Fallujah on Sunday to flush out militants from Al-Qaeda-linked Islamist State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) holing up in the city, a security official said.
"Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki as the general commander of the Armed Forces ordered an offensive on Fallujah from three directions after the local tribesmen failed to hunt down ISIL members on their own," the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told Anadolu Agency.
Last week, governor of Anbar Ahmed al-Dulaimi gave a "last warning" to ISIL militants to either exit the city or surrender.
Observers fear a decisive confrontation in Fallujah would pit the local Sunni tribesman, the government troops and the ISIL militants against each other in a free-for-all.
Meanwhile in Anbar's capital Ramadi, fierce battles continued into Sunday between security forces, backed by helicopters, and armed tribesmen in the district of al-Malaab.
No casualties have been formally announced. However, a source from Ramadi general hospital said they received three bodies and 7 injured people since Saturday.
Telecommunication services are still cut off in the city for the third day.
A well-placed security source told AA that government troops have stormed all suspected ISIL hideouts around Ramadi, and troops are currently taking on the militants in the central al-Malaab district.
Earlier on Sunday, the Iraqi Defense Ministry announced that its military forces killed over 50 ISIL "terrorists" between Saturday and Sunday in Ramadi.
The Iraqi army had announced last December it had embarked on a wide-scale operation to hunt down ISIL militants in the Sunni-dominated Anbar province.
However, local Sunni tribes opposed to the Shiite-dominated government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki voice anger over continued civilian causalities and have vowed to resist government troops deployed to the area.
By Aref Youssef
englishnews@aa.com.tr
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