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Over 25 prominent Sunni tribes have armed themselves to combat extremists sweeping through Iraq, a tribal leader said on Friday. The uprising in the province of Anbar, where extremists from the Islamic State (IS) hold important territory, came only a day after incumbent Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, who is vilified by Iraqi Sunnis, abandoned his attempt for a third term in office. The US-backed uprising against militants in 2006 had begun in Anbar.
The current uprising could potentially be a turning point in the Iraqi conflict against the IS offensive.
“This popular revolution was agreed on with all the tribes that want to fight IS, which spilled our blood”, Sheikh Abduljabbar Abu Risha, one of the uprising’s leaders, said.
The IS-led extremists launched the offensive in June which swept security forces away and overran large territories, including Anbar, where the city of Fallujah and parts of Ramadi have been outside the federal government’s control since January.
Major General Ahmed Saddak, Police chief of Anbar, said that the security forces were supporting the uprising, which began at 03:00 GMT on Friday.
“The battles are continuing until this moment”, he said, and added that 12 militants were killed so far.
“We will not stop until the liberation of Anbar”, he added.
The push by security forces and tribesmen began with attacks on several areas to the northwest of Ramadi, the provincial capital of Anbar, Saddak and Abu Risha said.
Meanwhile, Police Colonel Ahmed Shufir said that the Kataeb Hamza, a group which fought against militants connected to the al-Qaeda in the past years, has now been reformed and is now based in the town of Haditha in the Anbar province. The group aims to fight against extremists who hold territory west of the town, Shufir said.
Abu Risha also said that the uprising had been in the offing for weeks and that it was not connected to Maliki’s announcement on Thursday that he will not run for a third office.