The Iraqi Defense Ministry has released footage showing airstrikes by the Iraqi Army on vehicles and buildings used by militants in Anbar province, according to the Associated Press.
The video is undated, but another recent AP story reports an Iraqi government airstrike killed 25 militants on Tuesday:
A government airstrike killed 25 al-Qaida-linked militants in a besieged province west of Baghdad amid fierce clashes Tuesday between Iraqi special forces and insurgents battling for control of the key cities of Fallujah and Ramadi, Iraqi officials said.
The al-Qaida gains in the Sunni-dominated province of Anbar — once bloody battlegrounds for U.S. troops — pose the most serious challenge to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s Shiite-led government since the departure of American forces in late 2011.
Iraqi forces and fighters from government-allied Sunni tribes have been battling militants to try to recapture the strategic territory, seized last week by an al-Qaida-linked group known as the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant.
Iraqi military spokesman Gen. Mohammed al-Askari said the Iraqi air force struck an operations center for the militants on the outskirts of Ramadi, the provincial capital, killing 25 fighters who were holed up inside.
The Anbar cities of Fallujah and Ramadi have seen fierce fighting as Al Qaeda linked terrorists attempted seize control in recent days. Reports over the weekend indicated Al Qaeda militias successfully overran Fallujah and parts of Ramadi.
The Iraqi military moved assets into place for a counter assault on Fallujah, but delayed it today for fear of causing civilian casualties, the AFP reports:
Iraqi troops will delay assaulting the militant-held city of Fallujah, an officer said Tuesday, citing possible civilian casualties, as fighting and missile strikes in nearby Ramadi killed 29 people.
[…]
"It is not possible to assault (Fallujah) now" over concerns about civilian casualties, defence ministry spokesman Staff Lieutenant General Mohammed al-Askari told AFP.
The violence is the worst Iraq has seen since President Obama withdrew U.S. forces in 2011.
Sen. John McCain (R., Ariz.) criticized the Obama administration for prematurely taking credit for "less violent" conditions in Iraq earlier today. McCain pointed to administration official Antony Blinken's speech last year as evidence the White House is completely out of touch with the resurgence of Al Qaeda in Iraq: