RAMADI (Iraq): Iraqi forces backed by tribesmen battled jihadists on Thursday after they seized parts of two cities following days of violence triggered by the demolition of a year-old protest camp.

Militants from the Al Qaeda-linked Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) seized half of the city of Fallujah, outside Baghdad, and parts of Anbar provincial capital Ramadi farther west.

But security forces backed by loyalists among the province’s powerful tribes launched a counter-attack, sparking fierce fighting.

“We entered Fallujah with heavy clashes,” special forces commander Major General Fadhel al-Barwari said in a statement.

In Ramadi, police backed by tribal auxiliaries battled militants in the east of the city for several hours before the fighting subsided with the militants still in control of some areas.

Staff Lieutenant General Mohammed al-Askari said that some of the tribesmen fighting alongside the security forces had received arms from the government.

Clashes erupted in the Ramadi area on Monday as security forces tore down the main protest camp set up by Sunni Arabs a year ago.—AFP