BAGHDAD — Iraqi government forces and allied tribal militias launched an all-out offensive Sunday to push al-Qaeda militants from a provincial capital, an assault that killed or wounded about 20 police officers and government-allied tribesmen, officials said.
Since late December, members of Iraq’s al-Qaeda branch, known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, have taken over parts of Ramadi, the capital of the largely Sunni western province of Anbar. They also control the center of the nearby city of Fallujah, along with other non-al-Qaeda groups that also oppose the Shiite-led government.
A military officer and two local officials said clashes raged through Sunday night in Ramadi but gave no details.
Later, the commander of Anbar operations, army Lt. Gen. Rasheed Fleih, said that Iraqi special forces retook al-Bubali village after clashes with the militants who had held it for about three weeks. Al-Bubali lies on the road between Ramadi and Fallujah.
Fleih said gunmen had booby-trapped several houses in the village before their retreat. He declined to give any casualty figures.
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who heads the al-Qaeda group in Iraq, urged Iraqi Sunni Muslims to join the militants in an audio message posted on militant websites Sunday.
“This is your chance, so do not miss it. Otherwise, you will be finished,” al-Baghdadi said. He also exhorted his militants to continue their fight and attack Baghdad.
