Iraqi Prime Minister urges militants' expulsion

Tension remains high in Anbar province amid reports of sporadic clashes taking place in some parts in and outside the city of Ramadi, and the killing of a number of al-Qaeda-linked fighters in a firefight with a pro-government group outside Fallujah.

Fallujah residents said clashes continued into early morning on Monday along the main highway that links the capital, Baghdad, to neighbouring Syria and Jordan.

Fighters from the al-Qaeda-linked Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and their supporters are still controlling the centre of the city where they can be seen on the streets and around government buildings.

Al-Qaeda black flags have been seen on government and police vehicles captured by the fighters during the clashes.

The army has besieged Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province, and has launched airstrikes on the city.

Iraq's prime minister urged residents and tribes in Anbar province on Monday to "expel" the al-Qaeda-linked groups to avoid an all-out battle - remarks that may signal an imminent military move to retake the former insurgent stronghold.

In a message broadcast over state TV on Monday, Nouri al-Maliki told people to push ISIL fighters out of Fallujah, and urged the Iraqi army to avoid targeting the city's residential areas in the fighting.

Ahmed Abu Risha, a senior Sunni tribal leader and head of the Awakening Council in Anbar province, said that an agreement has been reached between tribal groups and the Iraqi government to withdraw the army from Ramadi and Fallujah.

The takeover of Fallujah and parts of Ramadi is the first time that tribal fighters have exercised such open control in major Iraqi cities since the height of the bloody insurgency that followed the US-led invasion of 2003.

Dozens of families fled the violence on Monday, heading towards the city of Kerbala, and have sought refuge in schools in neighbouring towns.

Mohammed al-Khuzayee, deputy general secretary of the Iraqi Red crescent, said three truckloads of food and sanitary items were being shipped to them.