ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – The Iraqi Defense Ministry has issued a statement claiming Iraqi joint forces have besieged ISIS militants in Ramadi, cutting off supplies and reinforcements from other extremist-held areas in Anbar province. “Our intelligence information shows that ISIS can no longer receive military assistance in Ramadi and Iraqi forces have surrounded the city in all directions,” Qais Al-Robai, media officer of the ministry, told reporters in Baghdad on Wednesday. A security official also told Rudaw on Wednesday that an estimated 17 ISIS militants were killed in Ramadi by Iraqi fighter jets. ISIS took control of Ramadi, capital of Anbar province, on May 17, raising their black flag over the governor's compound and setting it ablaze hours later. The retreat of the Iraqi forces recalled the collapse of Iraqi police and military forces last summer, when the Islamic State group's initial blitz into Iraq saw it capture about one-third of the country.
