Iraq launches assault on ISIL militants in Anbar

Iraqi forces have launched a major offensive against militants from the al-Qaeda-linked group of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in the western province of Anbar.

The operation, which involves police, pro-government militiamen and SWAT forces, was launched on Sunday in an effort to retake key neighborhoods of Ramadi, the capital of Anbar.
The government forces moved into five neighborhoods of the violence-hit city, with helicopters providing them cover and firing on targets in the Malaab district, which has been the center of clashes between the al-Qaeda-linked militants and security forces and their tribal allies.
All of the neighborhoods targeted are located in the south or center of the city.
According to Press TV, earlier on Sunday, the death toll from a wave of bomb attacks and shooting across the capital, Baghdad, and the northern city of Kirkuk hit 30.
The violence in Anbar broke out on December 30, 2013, when the army removed an anti-government protest camp in Ramadi. Authorities said the camp was used as “headquarters for the leadership of al-Qaeda.”
The bloodshed later spread to Fallujah and militants moved in and seized the city and parts of Ramadi.
In a speech in the southern city of Nasiriyah on Sunday, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki blamed “diabolical” and “treacherous” Arab nations for backing the crisis in his country and said he was “confident that the Iraqi people will defeat terrorism.”
“The world has united with us,” the premier added. “The (UN) Security Council, the European Union, and most Arab countries, except some diabolical treacherous countries.”