IS Take Over Iraq Soldiers Flee

Confirming that Ramadi had fallen, Muhannad Haimour, spokesman for the governor of Anbar province, added: "The city was completely taken ... It was a gradual deterioration. The military is fleeing."
 He also confirmed the provincial command centre in the city had fallen into enemy hands.
Iraqi troops have been filmed fleeing Ramadi as it fell to Islamic State after days of intense fighting and bombings. 

The soldiers appear to be clinging to the sides of military vehicles as they rush out of the strategically-important city, many leaving weapons behind.

A colonel among troops who had withdrawn added: "Daesh has just taken full control of all main security bases", using an Arabic acronym for IS.

But Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al Abadi ordered government forces to "hold their positions".

He called on troops, tribesmen and other elite forces to push the militants out of Ramadi.

US Secretary of State John Kerry, speaking during an official visit to South Korea, said he was confident the loss of Ramadi would be reversed and re-iterated his warning that the fight against IS would be a long one.

An estimated 500 people - militants and civilians - have been killed in Ramadi over the last two days and around 8,000 have fled as IS launched a fierce offensive of suicide car bomb attacks.

A purported message by Islamic State on a jihadist internet forum also appeared to confirm the city was firmly in its grip."God has enabled the soldiers of the caliphate to cleanse all of Ramadi," read the message.

One officer inside the captured command base described being surrounded, with mortars "raining down" and IS fighters "in almost every street".

Iraq's prime minister, Haider al Abadi, is sending in Shia militias but there are concerns they could stir up sectarian violence in the Sunni-dominated province.