The Iraqi army shelled Falluja on Saturday (January 11) to try and retake it from Sunni militants and tribesmen.<br/> <br />Scattered around the city were masked fighters, said to include members of the al-Qaeda linked group the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant or ISIL.<br/> <br />Militants took control of Falluja on January 1 with the help of sympathetic tribesmen who are united in their opposition against Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.<br/> <br />A centre of Sunni faith and identity in Iraq -- Falluja endured two devastating U.S. offensives against insurgents in 2004.<br/> <br />The U.S. invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein ushered in Shi'ite majority rule.<br/> <br />And Falluja is now the latest frontline in a war by al-Maliki's government against militants.<br/> <br />But Falluja's residents who fled recent fighting have said they were stunned at the prospect of an assault by the Iraqi army.<br/> <br />They questioned whether the masked gunmen who overran their city were really al-Qaeda affiliates.<br/> <br />Negoti
