After months of sluggish progress, stalled advances and outright failures, Iraqi troops and militias backed by US-led airstrikes have surrounded the key city of Ramadi and appear poised to launch a new attempt to wrest it from the Islamic State group.
The battle that is shaping up threatens to turn into a drawn-out siege, with thousands of residents caught in the middle as the forces try to wear down the militants since they took over the capital of western Anbar province in May. Western officials and analysts warn that the strategy of a methodical, slow siege could make the fight even more difficult.
On Monday, the Iraqi military drops leaflets into the city, telling the remaining residents — estimated at anywhere from 4,000 to 10,000 — to leave, the strongest signal yet that an assault is imminent.
But residents tell The Associated Press Tuesday that the militants have clamped down, setting up checkpoints across the city to monitor civilians’ movements and prevent anyone from going.
Iraqi security forces take combat positions at the front line with Islamic State as Iraqi Army and allied Sunni volunteer tribal fighters supported by US-led coalition airstrikes are tightening the siege of Ramadi, the capital of Iraq’s Anbar province, 70 miles (115 kilometers) west of Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, Nov. 30, 2015. (AP Photo/Osama Sami)
— AP
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