Iraq violence: Airstrike 'kills 25 militants'
Burnt out tanks could be seen one of the roads to Ramadi on Tuesday Iraqi troops have killed 25 al-Qaeda-linked fighters in Ramadi in an airstrike, the government says as it battles militants in Anbar province.
However an assault on Fallujah has been delayed because of fears over civilian casualties, the defence ministry says.
The government lost control of Fallujah to al-Qaeda militants and allied Sunni Arab tribesmen at the weekend.
Fighting in Anbar in recent days has led to some of the heaviest clashes in Iraq for years.
Mohammad al-Askari, spokesman for the Iraqi defence ministry, told local media that the Iraqi air force had targeted vehicles in Ramadi carrying heavy weapons with a missile strike, killing 25 "armed men".
Ramadi is reported to be under the control of powerful Sunni tribes working with local police to counter the al-Qaeda-linked Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant - known as ISIS.
Despite long-standing grievances against the central Shia-led government, the Ramadi tribes have renewed a pact with senior Iraqi army leaders to dislodge any presence of al-Qaeda.
However, much of Fallujah is reported to be controlled by ISIS, and Prime Minister Nouri Maliki has urged residents to drive them out.
On Monday, Mr Maliki said that if people in Fallujah expelled "terrorists", they would be spared military action.
It would ensure "their areas are not subjected to the danger of armed clashes", state television quoted him as saying.
Hundreds of Fallujah residents have already fled shelling and air strikes by government forces.
At the same time, the militants have called on Sunni tribes in the area to support them and have urged families who have fled the city to return to their homes.
Sunni angerThe latest upsurge in violence began last month after troops broke up a protest camp by Sunni Arabs in Ramadi.
Many Sunnis in Iraq claim they are being marginalised by Mr Maliki's Shia-led government.
BBC Middle East correspondent Jim Muir says Islamist militants have been able to benefit from those deep-seated grievances.
Mr Maliki's drive to restore control is being seen by many Sunnis as an attempt at domination and oppression, and it is taking Iraq back to the brink of a sectarian civil war, he adds.
Many from Fallujah have fled to other parts of Iraq After the 2003 US-led invasion, al-Qaeda based itself in Fallujah where several beheadings and killings of foreigners took place.
Also on Monday, the US said it was speeding up the supply of military equipment to Iraq to help the government fight and other militant groups.
The White House said additional surveillance drones would be delivered within weeks and more Hellfire missiles sent in the next few months.
Correspondents say that despite withdrawing from Iraq at the end of 2011, the US remains a key security partner, providing more than $14bn (£8bn) worth of weapons to Baghdad since 2005.
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