April 16, 2015
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.
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