Fighters from the Islamic State of Iraq and
the Levant group have gained ground in
western Iraq, overrunning several
villages
on the edge of the capital of Anbar
province, police sources and local
officials said.
Iraqi police came under attack from the
fighters at dawn on Wednesday in Albu
Ghanim and withdrew from the area,
about 5km northeast of the provincial
capital Ramadi, sending hundreds of
families fleeing.
The fighters blew up the police station in
Albu Ghanim and advanced further
towards Ramadi, seizing the villages of
Sofia, Albu Khalifa and Sor, police
sources and members of the provincial
council told the Reuters news agency.
Abu Jasim, who left Albu Ghanim soon
after it fell early on Wednesday, said the
fighters had set up a checkpoint at the
main entrance to the village and planted
their black flag there.
“[ISIL fighters] stopped us and said we
have came to liberate you,” Abu Jasim
told Reuters.
The fighters’ push comes after ISIL was
dealt a major blow earlier this month,
when Iraqi troops and allied militias
retook Tikrit.
