Islamic State has seized control of Ramadi, a major Iraqi city, in a "crushing setback" to the countries trying to stem the extremist group's expansion in the region.
According to Iraqi officials, government security forces and tribal fighters retreated after militants burst into the city in armoured bulldozers and detonated a series of suicide bomb explosions.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Local officials estimated that more than 500 people had died in the last two days of fighting, including civilians and police who had run out of ammunition. A further 8,000 people were said to have been displaced over the same period.
Retired Lt Col Anthony Shaffer, a senior fellow at the London Centre for Policy Research, said the US-trained Iraqi military units were "basically laying down their guns and running".
However, Muhannad Haimour, the Anbar governor's spokesman, pointed out that it was "very difficult to stop a bulldozer that's been armoured, driven by a suicide bomber, with tons of explosives". He told CNN that it was "not a conventional war by any stretch of the imagination".
Much of Anbar province has been held by Islamic State (IS) for more than 18 months, with the fall of Ramadi marking a "crushing setback" for the extremist group's opponents, said the Wall Street Journal.
Last night Iraqi and US officials said the fight for Ramadi was far from over. Iraq's Prime Minister, Haider al-Abadi, is preparing to send reinforcements, including Iran-backed Shi'ite militias, into the Sunni heartland – a controversial move in a country where sectarian tensions remain high.
Speaking in South Korea, US Secretary of State John Kerry said he was confident that the loss can be reversed in the coming days.
The advance in Ramadi, just 70 miles west of Baghdad, came a day after a US special operations team killed IS's finance leader in Syria.
-
Businesses are caught in the middle of ICE activitiesIn the Spotlight Many companies are being forced to choose a side in the ICE debate
-
Leadership: A conspicuous silence from CEOsFeature CEOs were more vocal during Trump’s first term
-
Saving for a down payment on a house? Here is how and where to save.the explainer The first step of the homebuying process can be one of the hardest
-
Israel retrieves final hostage’s body from GazaSpeed Read The 24-year-old police officer was killed during the initial Hamas attack
-
China’s Xi targets top general in growing purgeSpeed Read Zhang Youxia is being investigated over ‘grave violations’ of the law
-
Panama and Canada are negotiating over a crucial copper mineIn the Spotlight Panama is set to make a final decision on the mine this summer
-
Why Greenland’s natural resources are nearly impossible to mineThe Explainer The country’s natural landscape makes the task extremely difficult
-
Iran cuts internet as protests escalateSpeed Reada Government buildings across the country have been set on fire
-
US nabs ‘shadow’ tanker claimed by RussiaSpeed Read The ship was one of two vessels seized by the US military
-
How Bulgaria’s government fell amid mass protestsThe Explainer The country’s prime minister resigned as part of the fallout
-
Normalising relations with the Taliban in AfghanistanThe Explainer The regime is coming in from the diplomatic cold, as countries lose hope of armed opposition and seek cooperation on counterterrorism, counter-narcotics and deportation of immigrants
