Iraq's Prime Minister Urges Fallujah Residents To Expel Al Qaeda-Linked Fighters

The city was overrun last week

Iraq's prime minister has urged residents and tribes in the besieged city of Fallujah to "expel" al-Qaida-linked militants in order to preempt a military offensive that officials said could be launched within days.

Nouri al-Maliki's message on state television came as dozens of families were fleeing the city Monday in fear of a major showdown.

Iraqi government troops have surrounded Fallujah, which lies in western Sunni-dominated Anbar province and which was overrun along with most parts of the provincial capital, Ramadi, by al-Qaida fighters last week.