ISIS Takes Over Iraqi City of Ramadi, Christians Flee for Their Lives

Carrie Dedrick | Updated: May 19, 2015

ISIS Takes Over Iraqi City of Ramadi, Christians Flee for Their Lives

The Iraqi city of Ramadi is now under ISIS control after Iraqi forces fled the territory. 

Breaking Christian News reports the city fell after days of fighting; a government spokesman said approximately 500 soldiers and civilians were killed. About 8,000 people, including Christians, have fled for their lives. 

A statement purportedly from ISIS claimed that the terrorists had "purged the entire city." One media outlet reported that the militants had carried out mass killings, burning bodies and leaving them in the streets. 

Iraqi soldiers fled the area after four suicide car bombs occurred almost simultaneously on Sunday (May 17). The Gospel Herald reports that a video surfaced online showing military trucks and Humvees hastily moving out of the city with soldiers clinging to the sides. 

A senior U.S. official told Fox News that the Iraqi soldiers were pushed out of Ramadi “by a much smaller (ISIS) force.” 

In order for the U.S. to increase involvement with defeating ISIS, “The Iraqis have to want it more than we want it,” the official said. 

Publication date: May 19, 2015



ISIS Takes Over Iraqi City of Ramadi, Christians Flee for Their Lives