Iraqis fleeing from Falluja yesterday questioned whether masked gunmen who overran their city 10 days ago are really al-Qaeda-linked militants as the government says, but fear their presence will draw a ferocious army response regardless.

At a motel in Iraq’s Kurdish north, Falluja residents said they were stunned by the speed of the takeover of the city in Sunni-dominated Anbar province, predicting a tough fight if the Shi’ite-led government orders troops to retake it.

Al-Qaeda-linked militants, who are also fighting in neighbouring Syria, have been regaining ground over the past year in Anbar, which they seized in 2006-07 before being forced out by local tribal militia and occupying US troops.

Some witnesses say some of the gunmen initially raised black al-Qaeda flags over police stations they captured in Falluja and appealed to local citizens for support over mosque loudspeakers during Friday prayers a week ago.

But those flags have gone and residents said they did not believe the gunmen, who guard the streets at night and said they had nothing to fear, were members of the al-Qaeda-affiliated Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil).

“We didn’t see a strong armed presence representing Isil, only masked gunmen carrying weapons,” said Monzher Hazallah, who has spent several days at the motel with his family of nine. “We don’t know who they are.”

Falluja is the latest frontline in a war by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki’s government against what it says are Isil militants.

Whether the men in Falluja are Isil, or local Sunni tribesmen who oppose the government’s perceived mistreatment of their sect, is hard to establish. Either way, residents are fearful.