Special to WorldTribune.com

BAGHDAD — Sunni rebels, led by Al Qaida, have captured a leading city in Iraq.

Opposition sources said Sunni fighters, directed by Al Qaida’s Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, have taken control over Fallujah.

The sources said ISIL led tribal forces in expelling the last bastion of Iraq Army troops and pro-government militias from the city, located in the Anbar province.

“This [Sunni capture of Fallujah] is because of the poor decisions of the military leadership and its lack of understanding of the security file in Anbar,” Rafi Issawi, a Sunni opposition leader, said.

“This is not to mention the absence of military forces on the ground which gave ISIL the opportunity to take control of Fallujah.”

Issawi, a former finance minister who heads the Future Movement, told the Saudi daily A-Sharq Al Awsat that government forces were driven out of Fallujah. He said numerous Sunni tribes have joined the ISIL campaign, which spread from Anbar to neighboring provinces.

“Instead of responding to the legitimate demands of the [Sunni]
protesters in Fallujah and Ramadi, the government chose the military solution,
which prompted the tribes to take up arms to protect themselves,” Issawi said.

The Anbar province of Ramadi, however, remains in control of the
Shi’ite-led government in Baghdad. The sources said the U.S. military has
relayed combat platforms and missiles that focused on regaining Anbar.

The sources said ISIL was seeking to expand control over the countryside
outside Fallujah. On May 7, at least two soldiers were killed in an ISIL
attack on an Iraq Army checkpoint south of Fallujah. ISIL was said to have
employed rocket-propelled grenades and assault rifles.

The Iraqi military has acknowledged expanding ISIL operations in the the
Fallujah region. On May 6, the military said 15 ISIL fighters were killed in
an RPG and mortar attack on Ameriya, 20 kilometers south of Fallujah. Ten
soldiers were also said to have died in the battle.

“The police are fighting bravely and are being assisted by local
tribes,” an Iraqi security source said.

  Al Qaida’s ISIL, Anbar province, Rafi Issawi, Ramadi, Sunni tribes take Fallujah