The strategic Iraqi city of Ramadi
has fallen to Islamic State (IS) after government forces abandoned their
positions, officials say.
The police and military made a chaotic retreat after being overwhelmed by the militants.
The prime minister had ordered troops to stand their ground, saying he was deploying Shia militia to the city.
Ramadi is the capital of Iraq's largest province, Anbar, and is just 70 miles (112km) west of Baghdad.
A statement purportedly from IS said its fighters had "purged the entire city".
A
very well-placed source in the Anbar governor's office told the BBC
Ramadi was now under the full control of Islamic State, and all
government troops had withdrawn.
An army officer told the 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 holding on to their sides.
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 and later, three more suicide bombers drove
explosive-laden cars into the gate of the provincial military
headquarters, the Anbar Operation Command, officials said.
Earlier, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi called on pro-government
forces to "hold their positions and preserve them and not allow Daesh
(IS) to extend to other areas in Ramadi".
"There is continuous air
cover that will help ground troops there hold their positions while
waiting for support from other forces and the Popular Mobilisation
Units," he said, referring to the umbrella group for Shia militias. The militias
played a key role in the government's recent recapture of the city of
Tikrit from IS, but pulled out of the city following reports of
widespread violence and looting.
The loss of Ramadi represents a
very serious setback for the government, and Iraqi officials are
alarmed, the BBC's Ahmed Maher reports from Baghdad.
Anbar
province covers a vast stretch of the country west from the capital
Baghdad to the Syrian border, and contains key roads that link Iraq to
both Syria and Jordan.
IS reportedly controls more than half of Anbar's territory.
On Friday, IS took a government compound in Ramadi, raising its black
flags, before retreating. Its fighters seized the city centre on
Saturday and continued their advance.
The deputy head of Anbar
council, Faleh al-Issawi, told the BBC that more than 500 people had
been killed in the last two days of fighting in and around Ramadi,
including policemen who were trapped after running out of ammunition,
and civilians caught in the crossfire.
Some 8,000 people have been displaced over the same period, according to the International Organisation for Migration. The battle against IS in maps
Troubled history of Anbar province
Iraq's largest province and its only Sunni-dominated one was occupied by US forces in 2003
Hostile to the US, fighting quickly broke out between US troops and the region's Sunni insurgents
The worst battle came in 2004, when thousands died as US troops and coalition forces struggled to take the town of Falluja
Fighting continued in 2005 and 2006 during which time al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) rose to prominence
The US declared victory in 2007 but AQI remained, resuming attacks in 2011 when US troops withdrew
Islamic State and other Sunni insurgents currently control much of the province
No comments:
Post a Comment