MOSCOW, November 23 (Sputnik) — Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi called for additional support after a meeting late Saturday with delegates from the Anbar Provincial Council. The weapons are intended for Iraq's armed forces and also for Sunni tribes, who are supporting the anti-Islamic State fight in Anbar province, reports AP.
Islamic State militants have seized a number of cities and towns across Anbar province, including Fallujah. Iraqi soldiers, backed by Sunni tribal fighters, engaged in intense clashes on Sunday to retake Ramadi's eastern Sijariya neighborhood.
Due to the clashes, authorities in the city implemented a 24-hour curfew on Sunday, restricting civilian movement as Iraqi armed forces and tribesmen fought to regain territory there.
Both the US and Iraqi governments have been working to enlist the support of Sunni tribesmen in the fight against the Islamic State, by proposing the establishment of a National Guard program that will include arming and paying the tribesmen. But the Islamic State militants are trying to hinder those efforts, by targeting tribesmen who try to fight with them, reports AP.
Islamic State militants attacked and shot several men from the al-Bu Fahd tribe who were taking part in the fight against them, on Friday. They also have killed more than 200 men, women and children from Anbar's Sunni Al Bu Nimr tribe in recent weeks, apparently in revenge for the tribe's siding with Iraqi security forces and, in the past, with U.S. forces.
