Sunday, May 17, 2015

ISIS Takes Over City in Iraq

(NBC NEWS) - ISIS militants took control of the Iraqi city of Ramadi on today, (Sunday, May 17, 2015) according to a senior Iraqi security official, dealing a strategic blow to Iraqi forces trying to push ISIS fighters out of key cities.

Ramadi is about 60 miles west of Baghdad. On Sunday, 90 percent of the city was under ISIS control, according to the Iraqi official.

Police officers in the southern section of city were targeted by four nearly simultaneous bombings early Sunday, leaving 10 killed and 15 wounded, police told The Associated Press. Five soldiers were then killed when suicide bombers detonated car bombs at the gate of the Anbar Operation Command, the military headquarters for the province, according to the AP.

Earlier Sunday, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi ordered Shiite militias to prepare to fight alongside Iraqi soldiers defending the Sunni-dominated province against ISIS. He also instructed the Iraqi armed forces not to leave areas of Ramadi after liberating them from ISIS, saying fleeing gave the militants the chance to recapture the areas.




Sunni people have been forced to flee the violence of the city of Ramadi. They arrive at the outskirts of Baghdad. Islamic State Militants raised their black flag over the local government headquarters in Ramadi on Friday and claimed victory through mosque loudspeakers. If Ramadi were to fall completely, (ISIS controls 90 percent of the city) it would be the first major city seized by the insurgents in Iraq since security forces and paramilitary groups began pushing them back last year. 

No comments:

Post a Comment