Summary Police and tribesmen in Ramadi and Fallujah cities are battling ISIL militants.
BAGHDAD (AFP) - Fighting killed at least 32 civilians on Friday in the Anbar province cities of Ramadi and Fallujah, where Al-Qaeda-linked militants took over areas this week, security officials said.
Police and tribesmen in both cities are battling militants from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, or ISIL, which operates in both Iraq and Syria, the sources said.
ISIL militants took control of areas of both Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province, and Fallujah, another city farther east, during days of fighting that broke out after security forces demolished the country s main Sunni Arab anti-government protest camp.
Clashes erupted in the Ramadi area on Monday as security forces tore down the sprawling anti-government protest camp on a nearby highway.
The violence then spread to Fallujah, and a subsequent withdrawal of security forces from areas of both cities cleared the way for ISIL to move in.
Demonstrations by Iraqi Sunni Arabs, who say they are marginalised and targeted by Shiite-led authorities, broke out in late 2012.
While the camp s closure has removed a physical sign of their grievances, the perceived injustices that underpinned the protests have not been addressed.
