Al Qaeda proclaims first Islamic state from Iraqi Falluja

After seizing the heart of the western Iraqi town of Falluja, Al Qaeda’s local branch (ISIS) Friday night decreed it the capital of a new independent caliphate. The jihadists continue to push Iraqi forces out of another western Sunni town, Ramadi. To cover up the army’s inability to stop Al Qaeda’s advance, the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki Saturday reported that the jihadists had sustained heavy losses and that ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdad had been killed in battle. DEBKAfile: Western sources counter this claim with a report that Al Baghdadi is still orchestrating the counter-offensive against the Iraqi army from Baqouba in the eastern province of Diyala. If this is confirmed, it would mean that al Qaeda continues to seize territory. Read full report.