Ramadi battle: Shia militias near IS-held Iraqi city!!!
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Iraqi state TV described tanks and other military vehicles entering
al-Habbaniyah military camp. IS fighters are reportedly moving towards
the base.
The Iraqi government called for help from the Iran-backed militias after the military was routed and fled.
About 500 people died in the city - only 70 miles (112km) west of Baghdad.
Shia
forces at Habbaniya, about 20km (12 miles) from Ramadi, were "now on
standby," the head of the Anbar provincial council, Sabah Karhout, was
quoted by Reuters as saying.
In a statement, the council said
about 3,000 Shia fighters had arrived in Anbar to take part in "the
liberation of all Ramadi areas in which IS militants took positions".
But
IS militants had also advanced from Ramadi to the outskirts of the town
of al-Khalidiyah, near the Habbaniyah base, an IS statement and
wit
The US admitted on Monday the loss of Ramadi was a setback.
However, the White House vowed US forces would help the Iraqi government take it back.
Pentagon
spokesman Col Steven Warren said: "This is a difficult, complex, bloody
fight. And there's going to be victories and setbacks. We will retake
Ramadi."
The Shia militias, known as the Popular Mobilisation
(Hashid Shaabi), were key to the recapture from IS of another city,
Tikrit, north of Baghdad, in April.
But their use has raised concern in the US and elsewhere that it could provoke sectarian tension in Sunni areas such as Ramadi. The militias pulled out of Tikrit following reports of widespread violence and looting.
In
another move, the Iranian Defence Minister, Hossein Dehghan, has
arrived in Baghdad on a visit arranged before the latest developments in
Ramadi.
'Purged' city?
The police and military made a chaotic retreat from Ramadi, which has been contested for months, after days of intense fighting.
A
statement purportedly from IS said its fighters had "purged the entire
city". It said IS had taken the 8th Brigade army base, along with tanks
and missile launchers left behind by troops.
Fighting has forced thousands to flee the city
An
Iraqi army officer told the BBC that most troops had retreated to a
military base in the city of Khalidiya, east of Ramadi, despite an order
from Prime Minister Abadi for them to stand firm.
The US-led coalition says it has carried out 19 air strikes in Iraq since early on Sunday, including attacks around Ramadi.
However, they appear to have failed to hinder the IS advance there.
Reports said Iraqi forces had 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
explosives-laden cars into the gate of the provincial military
headquarters, the Anbar Operation Command, officials said. Anbar
province covers a vast stretch of the country west from Baghdad to the
Syrian border, and contains key roads that link Iraq to both Syria and
Jordan. Ramadi's loss is seen as a severe setback for the government.
IS reportedly controls more than half of Anbar's territory.
Some
8,000 people have been displaced by the latest bout of fighting in
Ramadi, according to the International Organisation for Migration.
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