By The Daily Journalist.
The self-denominated Islamic State is on the verge of gaining complete control over the western Iraqi province of Al Anbar after its fighters have achieved in the last hours the center of Ramadi, the capital of Al Anbar. As proof of their drive, the jihadists have hoisted the black flag of the organization in the government complex.
Heavy clashes between Iraqi security forces and militants IS (Islamic State, for its acronym in English) broke the early hours of Friday. Soon after, six suicide attacks have paved the way for jihadists, who have managed to snatch the last areas of Ramadi now in their possession, including the central district where the local institutions as the seat of government and the headquarters are located police general.
In a statement, the IS has reported that its members have “stormed the government complex ofthe Safavid’s [a powerful dynasty that ruled Persia between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries that the IS used to refer pejoratively Shiites] in downtown Ramadi “. Iraqi authorities have acknowledged their decline in Ramadi, about 100 km west of Baghdad. Iraqi security sources have said the Kurdish newspaper Rudaw ‘that at least fifty agents has been killed in the attacks.
Now the main fear is that the IS, which celebrated its victory through the speakers of the mosques of Al Anbar, complete their progress by taking control of the last bastions of government in the province, a military post west of the city and two nearby villages. “The enclaves could fall and Daesh [Arabic acronym IS] could perpetrate a slaughter against its people if the government does not send enough troops,” warned the Karhut Sabah, head of the Provincial Council of Al Anbar.
The progress of IS in Al Anbar, where it began an offensive in early 2014, and is now a major setback for authorities; who last month managed to recover Tikrit, capital of the province of Saladin, and had launched an operation with Sunni tribes trying to defeat the IS to the uncertain conquest of a province that has become a stronghold of the insurgency. The setback in Al Anbar further complicated calculations to inaugurate the campaign to regain Mosul, Iraq’s second city in jihadist hands since last June.
The blow given by the IS, which includes the taking of the main supply route of the city, has alerted the authorities. “The situation in Ramadi is serious but the city has not fallen and fighting Daesh continues”, has stated the governor of Al Anbar Sohaib to Rawi in his Twitter account. The forces who remain in the village are under siege by fighters of IS and security sources warn that unless reinforcements arrive, their defeat will be a matter of hours.
The IS, who proclaimed last June a caliphate in Syria and Iraq, and boasts a vast history of summary executions, beheadings, amputations and crucifixions. Just yesterday the organization released a sound message of its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi urging to emigrate to the domains of IS and congratulating the achievements of their combatants in different territories, including Al Anbar.
Just today, IS also took control of Palmyra, part of UNESCO’s historical patrimony. It is expected that Ben Assad forces will widen their military operations to continue fighting to push back IS troops back to Iraq. There’s rising concerns, about IS bulldozing the ancient city.
