Missile strikes on Ramadi, the provincial capital, killed 25 people on Tuesday, according to an Iraqi Defence Ministry spokesman, while Fallujah remained deserted as residents fled the violence and the army prepared to launch an operation to regain control of it.
"It is not possible to assault [Fallujah] now" due to concerns about civilian casualties, Staff Lieutenant-General Mohammed al-Askari, a Defence Ministry spokesman, told AFP news agency.
Attacking the Sunni-majority city would be extremely politically sensitive, as it could further inflame tensions between members of Iraq's Sunni Arab minority and the Shia-led government.
It would also be a major test for Iraqi security forces, which have yet to undertake such an operation without the backing of US troops.
The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) has warned people in Fallujah they face dire consequences it they support the government.
The immediate trigger for the unrest was the December 28 arrest of a Sunni politician sought on terrorism charges, followed by the government's dismantling of an anti-government Sunni protest camp in Ramadi.
Parts of Ramadi - the capital of Anbar province, west of Baghdad - and all of Fallujah were seized by al-Qaeda-linked fighters last week.
It is the first time al-Qaeda-linked fighters have exercised such open control in major cities since the height of the insurgency that followed the 2003 US-led invasion.
Overnight, security forces and allied tribesmen sought to retake south Ramadi from fighters loyal to the al-Qaeda-linked Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), but the assault failed.
"Security forces and armed tribesmen tried last night to enter areas controlled by ISIL fighters in the south of the city," a police captain in Ramadi told AFP.
"Clashes between the two sides began about 11:00 pm (2000 GMT) last night and continued until 6am," he said, adding that "security forces were not able to enter these areas and ISIL fighters are still in control."
Four civilians were killed and 14 wounded in the fighting, according to Ramadi hospital's Dr Ahmed Abdul Salam, who had no casualty figures for security forces or the fighters.
Meanwhile, three loud explosions were heard outside Fallujah early on Tuesday, a witness said, while the army deployed reinforcements.
"Today, the army sent new reinforcements, including tanks and vehicles, to an area about 15km east of Fallujah," a police captain told AFP.
Nouri al-Maliki, the Iraqi prime minister, has called for residents to expel ISIL fighters and stave off a military offensive.
But senior tribal leader Sheikh Ali al-Hammad told AFP on Monday that ISIL's fighters had left Fallujah, and that it was now in the hands of tribesmen.
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