BAGHDAD // Al Qaeda and other insurgent groups have tightened their grip on Fallujah, defying the Shiite-led Iraqi government’s efforts to persuade local tribesmen to expel them from the Sunni Muslim city, residents and officials say.
Despite an army siege, fighters and weapons have been flowing into the city, where United States troops fought some of their fiercest battles during their 2003-11 occupation of Iraq.
In an embarrassing setback for a state that has around a million men under arms, the Al Qaeda-linked Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) and its tribal allies overran Fallujah and parts of the nearby city Ramadi on January 1.
Iraq’s prime minister Nouri Al Maliki, who is seeking a third term in a parliamentary election in April, deployed troops and tanks around the city of 300,000 and funnelled weapons to anti-Al Qaeda tribesmen but has ruled out a full-scale military assault.
Ramadi, the provincial capital of the vast western province of Anbar, is mostly back under state control, but Mr Al Maliki’s calls on local tribesmen to evict the militants from Fallujah, just 50 kilometres west of Baghdad, have so far come to nought.
Instead, scores more fighters have sneaked into the city along with an array of weaponry ranging from small arms and mortars to Grad missiles and anti-aircraft guns, according to security and local officials, residents and tribal leaders.
“Our sources in Fallujah indicate that militant numbers have increased to more than 400 in the last few days and that more anti-aircraft guns were received,” said a senior local official who declined to be named. His figure could not be confirmed.
The weapons and fighters are reaching Fallujah mainly from its southern environs, an area entirely under the sway of tribes hostile to the government, security officials said.
“The tribes scattered around Fallujah have zero loyalty to the central government,” said Sheikh Mohammed Al Bajari, a tribal leader and negotiator in the city.
“Now they (the army) are not controlling anything and no roads can be closed,” he said of Fallujah’s southern approaches.
The Al Qaeda-linked militants, which are also playing an aggressive role in Syria’s civil war, are greatly outnumbered by armed tribesmen in Fallujah, a symbol of Sunni identity and resistance in Iraq, many of whom lean towards the militants or other insurgent factions.
Since the city fell out of government control, various rebel groups have loosely aligned with the militants or are asserting their own influence, officials, tribal leaders and residents said.
These include Islamist factions such as the 1920 Revolution Brigades, the Islamic Army, the Mujahedin Army, the Rashidin Army and Ansar Al Sunna, as well as the Army of the Men of the Naqshbandi Order, a Baathist militia created by Izzat Al Duri, a former lieutenant of Iraq’s deposed leader Saddam Hussein.
Despite its limited numbers, Isil dominates by its zeal and fearsome reputation on and off the battlefield, frequently using suicide bombers in Iraq and in Syria — where it has even turned them on rival rebel factions in a bitter power struggle.
* Reuters
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Financial considerations before buying a property
Buyers should try to pay as much in cash as possible for a property, limiting the mortgage value to as little as they can afford. This means they not only pay less in interest but their monthly costs are also reduced. Ideally, the monthly mortgage payment should not exceed 20 per cent of the purchaser’s total household income, says Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching.
“If it’s a rental property, plan for the property to have periods when it does not have a tenant. Ensure you have enough cash set aside to pay the mortgage and other costs during these periods, ideally at least six months,” she says.
Also, shop around for the best mortgage interest rate. Understand the terms and conditions, especially what happens after any introductory periods, Ms Glynn adds.
Using a good mortgage broker is worth the investment to obtain the best rate available for a buyer’s needs and circumstances. A good mortgage broker will help the buyer understand the terms and conditions of the mortgage and make the purchasing process efficient and easier.
The specs
Engine: four-litre V6 and 3.5-litre V6 twin-turbo
Transmission: six-speed and 10-speed
Power: 271 and 409 horsepower
Torque: 385 and 650Nm
Price: from Dh229,900 to Dh355,000
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
Five famous companies founded by teens
There are numerous success stories of teen businesses that were created in college dorm rooms and other modest circumstances. Below are some of the most recognisable names in the industry:
- Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg and his friends started Facebook when he was a 19-year-old Harvard undergraduate.
- Dell: When Michael Dell was an undergraduate student at Texas University in 1984, he started upgrading computers for profit. He starting working full-time on his business when he was 19. Eventually, his company became the Dell Computer Corporation and then Dell Inc.
- Subway: Fred DeLuca opened the first Subway restaurant when he was 17. In 1965, Mr DeLuca needed extra money for college, so he decided to open his own business. Peter Buck, a family friend, lent him $1,000 and together, they opened Pete’s Super Submarines. A few years later, the company was rebranded and called Subway.
- Mashable: In 2005, Pete Cashmore created Mashable in Scotland when he was a teenager. The site was then a technology blog. Over the next few decades, Mr Cashmore has turned Mashable into a global media company.
- Oculus VR: Palmer Luckey founded Oculus VR in June 2012, when he was 19. In August that year, Oculus launched its Kickstarter campaign and raised more than $1 million in three days. Facebook bought Oculus for $2 billion two years later.
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