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| Iraq |
| Iraq official: 500 killed, 8,000 fled as Ramadi fell to ISIS |
| 2015-05-19 |
| [Rudaw] A front man for the governor of Iraq's Anbar province said Monday that about 500 people -- both civilians and Iraqi soldiers -- are estimated to have been killed over the past few days as the city of Ramadi fell to the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allaharound with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not reallyMoslems.... group. The estimates follow a shocking defeat as Islamic State seized control of the Anbar lovely provincial capital on Sunday, sending Iraqi forces fleeing in a major loss despite the support of U.S.-led Bodies, some burned, littered the streets as local officials reported the snuffies carried out mass killings of Iraqi security forces and civilians. Online video showed Humvees, trucks and other equipment speeding out of Ramadi, with soldiers gripping onto their sides. "We do not have an accurate count yet," said the front man, Muhannad Haimour. "We estimate that 500 people have been killed, both civilians and military, and approximately 8,000 have fled the city." The estimates are for the past three days, since Friday, when the battle for the city reached its final stages. The 8,000 figure is in addition to the enormous exodus in April, Haimour said, when the U.N. said as many as 114,000 residents fled from Ramadi and surrounding villages at the height of the violence. Local officials have said that IS carried out mass killings of Iraqi security forces and civilians. With defeat looming, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi had ordered security forces not to abandon their posts across Anbar province, apparently fearing the gunnies could capture the entire desert region that saw intense fighting after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion to topple dictator Saddam Hussein. Earlier Sunday, al-Abadi ordered Shiite militias to prepare to go into the Sunni-dominated province, ignoring U.S. concerns their presence could spark sectarian bloodshed. By late Sunday, a large number of Shiite bully boyz had arrived at a military base near Ramadi, apparently to participate in a possible counter-offensive, said the head of the Anbar provincial council, Sabah Karhout. U.S. Secretary of State John F. I was in Vietnam, you knowKerry Former Senator-for-Life from Massachussetts, self-defined war hero, speaker of French, owner of a lucky hat,conqueror of Cambodia, and current Secretary of State... said he remained confident about the fight against the Islamic State group, despite the setbacks like the loss of Ramadi. Kerry, traveling through South Korea, said that he's long said the fight against the Death Eater group would be a long one, and that it would be tough in the Anbar province of western Iraq where Iraqi security forces are not built up. |
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