ISIS gains territory in Iraq and Syria, threatens ancient city

Middle East, News May 15, 2015 , by IRIA No Comments

Militants from the Islamic State group raised their black flag over the local government compound in Ramadi, the capital of Iraq’s Anbar province, on Friday.

It is a huge blow to Iraq’s government and security forces, as fighting rages on.

“We will fight ISIS in Anbar as long as it takes,” said Iraqi army Major Majeed Mohamed Ali. “We will kick them out of Anbar,” he added.

But his determined words contrast with claims of victory from ISIS, ringing out through the loudspeakers of mosques.

The Islamic State offensive — which began with ambush-style attacks after sundown Thursday — touched off panicked attempts to flee the city and avoid the militant’s tightening noose on routes to safety.

“It was just like scenes of carnage in a World War II movie with bombing all around and dead people in the streets,” said Ali Dulaimi, a 28-year-old student at Anbar University.

Ramadi, 100 km west of Baghdad, has been contested since last year but the insurgents renewed their offensive on the city in April after being routed from the city of Tikrit by Iraqi troops and Shi’ite paramilitaries.

ISIS said it had stormed Ramadi’s provincial government compound and taken control after “eliminating the apostates” who remained inside.

The fighting, culminating in Fridays attack in which the jihadists used up to six suicide car bombs to reach Ramadi city centre, has sent more than 130,000 people fleeing for their lives.

Earlier, Syrian activists said the ISIS has seized more territory in the central province of Homs in Syria amid intense clashes with government forces.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory says Wednesday’s fighting killed at least 28 government troops and about 20 militants. It says hundreds were wounded.

The Islamic State has a presence in the eastern countryside of Homs and has been pushing west. Twitter accounts affiliated with ISIS say its fighters reported advances northwest of the city of Palmyra.

An activist based in Homs, Bebars al-Talawy, says the Islamic State seized a large government ammunition warehouse outside Palmyra and was bombing a nearby government-controlled airport.

Al-Talawy says the extremists took advantage of government redeployment on Tuesday to Idlib province where troops are fighting to regain territory seized by rebels.

Fears are growing for the ancient city of Palmyra in Syria, hailed as one of the Middle East’s most precious cultural treasures, amid reports that ISIS jihadist fanatics have taken up positions nearby.

The UNESCO World Heritage site, known as the “pearl of the desert”, has already been damaged by fighting in Syria’s conflict.

Now the country’s antiquities chief Maamoun Abdulkarim has warned that if the militant group seizes the city “they will destroy everything that exists there”.

EN/WP/FN