A file photo of Shiite and Sunni scholars shaking hands Friday noon prayers in Baghdad .

CAIRO , August 14, 2005 (IslamOnline.net) – In a show of national unity, dozens of Iraqi Sunnis have defended their Shiite neighbors against attempts by foreign militants to drive them out of the western city of Ramadi , a leading US newspaper reported Sunday, August 14.

"We don't accept that a non-Iraqi should try to enforce his control over Iraqis, regardless of their sect -- whether Sunnis, Shiites, Arabs or Kurds," said Sheikh Ahmad Khanjar, leader of the Albu Ali clan, referring to the group of Al-Qaeda's front man in Iraq, Abu Musab Zarqawi.

"We have had enough of his nonsense."

A one-hour fierce battle involving automatic weapons and grenade launchers left two Sunni tribal fighters and five Zarqawi's followers killed, according to residents and hospital workers.

With the ferocity of the clashes, the militants were forced to flee in pickup trucks stripped of license plates, witnesses added.

Zarqawi's followers had posted warnings to the Shiite residents in the city to leave within 48 hours in retaliation for the alleged expulsion of Sunnis from the Shiite-predominantly south.

Hearing the warnings, members of the Sunni Dulaimi tribe set up cordons around Shiite homes in the Ramadi's neighborhood of Sejarriyah and Tameem to defend them.

Statements posted on walls declared, in the name of the Iraqi-led Mohammed's Army group, that "Zarqawi has lost his direction" and strayed "from the line of true resistance against the occupation."

Zarqawi had claimed responsibility for many attacks targeting Shiites across Iraq, the latest being a suicide bombing in the southern town of Al-Musayyib on July 17 killing at least 70 people and wounding 95.

Binding Ties

Zarqawi had claimed responsibility for many attacks targeting Shiites in Iraq . (Reuters)

The Saturday's clashes between the Sunni Arabs and Zarqawi's militants in defense of Shiites are the clearest evidence on the Iraqi national unity, said the American daily.

"So many ties of friendship, marriage and compassion bind Shiites and Sunnis in Ramadi," said Ali Hussein Lifta, a 50-year-old Shiite resident.

Lifta, who is an air-conditioning repairman, said he was not surprised at the Sunni move.

"We have become in fact part of the population here, and this we are going to convey to the rest of Iraq and to those who want to instill division between Sunnis and Shiites."

Last April, Iraqi authorities alleged that Sunni militants were holding hundreds of Shiites hostage in Al-Maden town, south of  Baghdad , a claim that proved fabricated later and raised eyebrows.

"We are happy to know that the ties with the Sunnis have become so strong that the Zarqawis and their terrorism cannot affect them," said Lifta.