The Islamic State seized the city of Ramadi, capital of Iraq's biggest and Sunni-dominated province of Anbar, on Sunday. Five hundred people were reportedly killed while about 8,000 people have fled.
In April, an estimated 114,000 people left Ramadi after ISIS took control of the territories north and east of the city.
The weeks-long battle for Ramadi gave ISIS the advantage when it launched an intense attack on Thursday night and advanced into the city in bulldozers after detonating more than 10 suicide bombs. On Friday, ISIS raised its black flag at the city's government center and have gained control over the government district, the city hospital and the university.
On Sunday, the group detonated four suicide car bombs at the gate of the Anbar Operation Command, which is the military's provincial headquarters. An Iraqi official said that 90 percent of the city had fallen into ISIS control, according to NBC News.
Iraqi forces pulled out as their ammunition ran low and they lost ground, suffering great loss even with the airstrike assistance led by U.S. forces, while the militant group advanced into Ramadi. Over the last few days, ISIS killed around 500 people, soldiers and civilians alike, and left their dead bodies on the streets.
Anbar provincial governor spokesman Muhannad Haimor said, "The city was completely taken. The military is fleeing," according to Fox News.
ISIS reportedly declared that it has "purged the entire city," claiming it has taken over the 8th Brigade Army Base, including missile launchers and other weapons left behind by Iraqi soldiers who pulled out from the area, BBC reports.
Meanwhile, people from the neighboring province of Karbala are afraid that ISIS might advance into their territory. Habib al-Turfi of the Iraqi parliament said the province is preparing for a possible emergency. "ISIS has tried time and again to take the town of al-Nukhayb," he told Rudaw, a Kurdish media outlet in Iraq. However, he is optimistic that the militant group will not attack Karbala because of the lack of ISIS supporters in the area.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry expressed confidence that the loss in Ramadi can be reversed. He had previously stated that the fight against ISIS could stretch for a long time and that the fighting in Anbar would be difficult, but he remains unshaken in the battle against the terrorist group.
"It is possible to see the kind of attack we have in Ramadi, but I am absolutely confident in the days ahead that will be reversed," Kerry said, according to CNN.
Retired Lt. Col. Anthony Shaffer does not agree. He referred to the takeover of Ramadi as "a bad news story." He said that what happened in Ramadi is an important sign that those who are fighting ISIS should try a different approach.
"The military units we've trained in the Iraqi army are basically laying down their guns and running," he said, according to CNN. "This is not about ISIS. This is about whether the Iraqi military has the capability, and more importantly, the will to face up with ISIS."
