As my colleagues Yasir Ghazi and Tim Arango reported, the fighting in Anbar province has exacerbated the animosity among Sunni civilians and tribal militias toward the Shiite dominated government of Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki.
Underlining the escalating sectarian tensions, one such Sunni group, called the Military Council of the Anbar Tribes Revolutionaries, on Tuesday framed the battle as being against Iran, and said it was trying to expand its influence outside of Anbar to join forces with Sunni tribal fighters in other provinces to fight Mr. Malikiâs Shiite led government.
On its Facebook page, the group said in a statement that it was taking the steps because of the âcriminal Maliki government, which is the hand of Iran in Iraq.â
It said the Anbar groupâs fighters were joining forces with revolutionary councils representing Sunni tribes in other Iraq provinces âto stand in one trenchâ against the âIranian occupation.â It mentioned the neighboring province of Salahuddin.
The council also posted a video recorded on Tuesday, in which militiamen said Falluja was in the hands of its people, and denied reports that the city was surrounded and besieged, saying they were steadfast and ready to fight to defend it: âThere will be no withdrawal, only victory.â
The main narrator in the footage, speaking on a rooftop surrounded by armed fighters and overlooking a road, said: âWe will burn up anything that moves along that highway.â
Follow Christine Hauser on Twitter @christineNYT.