No Operation in Fallujah: Maliki

Iraqi Premiere Nouri al-Maliki has vowed to cleanse the embattled city of Fallujah of al-Qaeda elements even without a military operation in the city. “We want to end the presence of those militants without any bloodshed because the people of Fallujah have suffered a lot,” Maliki was reported as saying early this week in an interaction with foreign media. “There is a good response from Fallujah’s sons and tribes. We do not care how long this takes. The important thing is not to attack the city and kill innocent people because of those criminals,” he further added. Parts of Fallujah slipped into militants’ hands a week ago.