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IRAQ: IS Forces Seize the City of Ramadi
The Iraqi city of Ramadi has fallen to Islamic State after the government forces abandoned their positions. The police and the military are known to have made a chaotic retreat in the past days that were marked by intense fighting. The US refused to confirm the capture, saying that the situation wasn’t clear enough to draw a conclusion yet.
A statement that is believed to have come from the IS said that the fighters purged the city, and a source in the Anbar governor’s office states that Ramadi was now under the full control of Islamic State and that all the government troops have withdrawn.
Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi had ordered troops to stand their ground, saying he was deploying Shia militia to the city. However, an army officer told BBC that most troops had retreated to a military base in the city of Khalidiya, east of Ramadi. Government troops were running out of ammunition and could not repel the massive onslaughts by IS, he said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Footage posted on social media showed military vehicles speeding away from Ramadi, with soldiers hanging off the sides. Various reports said Iraqi forces fled following a series of suicide car bomb attacks on Sunday. Four almost simultaneous explosions hit police defending the Malaab district in southern Ramadi. Later, three more suicide bombers drove explosive-laden cars into the gate of the provincial military headquarters, the Anbar Operation Command.
Sources:
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-32773780
http://www.wsj.com/articles/islamic-state-seizes-control-of-iraqi-city-of-ramadi-1431890438
