Islamic State raises flag over local government HQ in Iraq's Ramadi

BAGHDADI SPEECH

Ramadi is one of the few towns and cities to have remained under government control in the vast desert province, which borders Saudi Arabia, Syria and Jordan.

More than 130,000 people have fled Anbar since the militants renewed their offensive on Ramadi last month, according to the International Organisation for Migration. People who had stayed were trying to leave on Friday, but found themselves trapped.

Fifty-seven-year-old shop owner Abu Raad told Reuters he had seen uniforms and weapons discarded by the security forces in the streets. "We are currently being patient and hope that God will save us from this ordeal. We have no where else to go."

In an audio recording issued by Islamic State on Thursday purporting to come from its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the self-proclaimed caliph urged displaced residents of Anbar to return to their homes in the Sunni heartland: "For you are our people. We defend you, your honour, and your wealth."

Baghdadi also hailed the Islamic State fighters who had "snatched Anbar from the eyes of the apostates and the throats of the Rafeda, in spite of America and its allies," using a derogatory term for Shi'ite Muslims and referring to U.S.-led coalition air strikes.

Friday's offensive began with the militants using an armoured bulldozer to remove blast walls blocking the road to the police department next to the governorate building and blew the vehicle up when it reached there.

A Humvee packed with explosives targeted the education department in the same compound and a third car bomb was detonated at the western entrance to the governorate building itself. Three more car bombs blew up near the Anbar Operations Command.