The al-Qaeda-linked militants have held Fallujah for more than a month.

"People of Anbar, criminals have kidnapped Fallujah," Governor Ahmed al-Dulaimi said in a statement.

"But, I swear to God, we will achieve victory against injustice and Fallujah will return to normal."

Dulaimi offered the foreign-backed militants a week to lay down their arms and promised them amnesty, but insisted that the authorities would not negotiate with the al-Qaeda-linked Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) who has committed numerous atrocities in Iraq and the neighboring Syria.

Fallujah and provincial capital Ramadi have for weeks been hit by conflict, and while government forces have made steady progress in retaking the insurgents-held areas of Ramadi, they have largely stayed out of Fallujah for fear that an incursion would result in civilian casualties.

In Ramadi, meanwhile, police Lieutenant Colonel Hamid Shandukh said security forces had defused upwards of 400 roadside bombs, including dozens used to booby-trap houses.

After al-Qaeda-linked militants overran the Anbar, more than 140,000 people fled their homes, the UN refugee agency said last month.

RA/MB