Fallujah key to defeating Islamic State
The residents of Fallujah are not pledging allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi but could be a part of the resistance to IS.
Earlier this year, the fall of Fallujah, which is particularly symbolic for Iraq's Sunni insurgents, marked the beginning of events that followed, starting from the fall of Mosul on June 10 until today. Yet, Fallujah also could be the beginning of a solution to the crisis, in case the required sorting was made between Sunni insurgents and the Islamic State (IS, formerly known as the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham, or ISIS).
On July 6, a reliable tribal source told Al-Monitor, “An armed convoy of vehicles carrying IS flags crossed the villages of northern Fallujah. Immediately afterward, a gunmen, who identified himself as a messenger of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, held meetings with armed factions, tribal leaders and clerics, and called on them to either pledge allegiance to Baghdadi, or engage in a bloody confrontation with IS.”
