Al-Qaeda linked insurgents attacked a tribe allied to the Iraqi government and US forces in the restive western province of al-Anbar, prompting US air and artillery support, the military reported on Sunday. The insurgents attacked the Abu Soda tribe in Sofiya, near the provincial capital of Ramadi, with mortars and small arms, burning homes, in apparent revenge for their support of the Iraqi government. Some 25 tribes in al-Anbar formed an alliance, the "Anbar awakening", in September and pledged to fight al-Qaeda militants in the insurgency-plagued province by forming their own paramilitary units and sending recruits to the local police force. "Al-Qaeda has decided to attack the tribes due to their support," said Sheikh Abdel Sittar Baziya, head of the Abu Risha tribe and a founder of the movement. "The terrorists have gone to a neighbouring tribe and have brought fighters to attack the Abu Soda," he said in the military's statement.
Following up reports of the attack, US forces hit the al-Qaeda attackers with artillery fire and air strikes. According to Sheikh Jassim of the Abu Soda tribe, 15 members of his tribe and 45 insurgents were killed in figures that were briefly flashed on state television last night. The US military could not confirm the figures.
Al-Anbar has long seen the fiercest resistance to the US occupation of Iraq and the insurgency there has claimed a lion's share of US casualties in the past three-and-a-half years.