Story highlights
NEW: A U.S. military official tells CNN the fall of Ramadi is "not imminent"
Official in Ramadi says it's unclear how long government forces can hold out there
He begs the Iraqi government for reinforcements and the U.S.-led coalition for airstrikes
(CNN) —
Falih Essawi shouted on the phone as he described his situation. From his point of view, ISIS militants might be just hours away from taking the key Iraqi city of Ramadi.
Fierce fighting has engulfed Ramadi, which lies only about 70 miles (113 kilometers) west of Baghdad and is the capital of Anbar province, Iraq’s Sunni heartland.
Essawi, the deputy head of the Anbar Provincial Council, told CNN from inside the city Wednesday that it’s unclear how much longer government troops can hold their front lines against the ISIS offensive.
The politician said he was on a front line himself, armed with a machine gun. Security was “collapsing rapidly in the city,” and he begged the Iraqi government for reinforcements and the U.S.-led coalition against ISIS for air support. He stressed that urgent support from the military and security forces is needed to save the city.
“This is what we warned Baghdad of what’s going to happen,” Essawi told CNN by phone, referring to the Iraqi government at the capital. “Where is Baghdad? Where is al-Abadi?”
His plea for help comes the day after Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi met with U.S. President Barack Obama in Washington to seek more support for the fight against ISIS.
“Just Allah knows if we will survive this,” Essawi said.
According to the Anbar official, at least 10 Iraqi security forces were killed and more than 100 others were wounded in the fighting against ISIS on Wednesday.
The extremist group’s offensive in Ramadi shows its resilience despite months of U.S.-led airstrikes and its recent defeat by Iraqi forces in the northern city of Tikrit.
ISIS fighters have Ramadi under pressure from several angles.
Essawi said ISIS militants made significant advances Wednesday in three areas east of Ramadi: Albu Soda, Albu Ghanem and parts of Soufia, which leads to central Ramadi. Later, he said that militants were rolling into the center of Ramadi.
AZHAR SHALLAL/AFP/Getty
A member of the tribal groups fights alongside Iraqi government forces during clashes with ISIS jihadists in Ramadi in March.
Over the weekend, the militants seized control of areas north of Ramadi. Routes south of the city were taken some months ago.
That leaves only areas to the west of Ramadi in the hands of government forces, but those positions are under threat, Essawi warned.
The recent fighting has driven a steady stream of refugees out of the city. On Wednesday, some residents packed what they could into metal carts as they prepared to flee on foot.
People also were fleeing the areas where ISIS was advancing east of Ramadi.
At least 150,000 people have already fled since Wednesday morning, causing huge traffic jams on the roads leading outside the city, according to Essawi.
A CNN team met with three families that had fled an ISIS assault in the Albu Ghanem area. Those families said Iraqi security and military forces withdrew from Albu Ghanem after a battle with ISIS, which took over the area quickly.
One fleeing Albu Ghanem resident, Abu Ahmed, paused to talk to CNN as he and his family walked east toward Baghdad, crossing a bridge over the Euphrates River. He said four ISIS militants had entered his house and set up a sniper position on his roof.
Abu Ahmed said he, his wife and four children walked away from the home with his elderly mother while the ISIS fighters were busy setting things up there. He said his family left everything behind.
His family was using a cart to carry his mother, who couldn’t walk. While talking about the fighters’ takeover of his home, his wife started crying and asked God to help the rest of the families who are stuck in Albu Ghanem.
Ramadi has seen intense and persistent fighting for months. ISIS took over parts of the city in the first half of last year, placing it at the heart of a deadly tug of war ever since.
The U.S. military has carried out multiple airstrikes against ISIS targets near Ramadi in recent weeks.
“The coalition has been supporting the fight in Ramadi with airstrikes, and there have been seven airstrikes in Ramadi since Monday,” Col. Ed Thomas, spokesman for Joint Chiefs Chairman Col. Martin Dempsey, said on Wednesday.
He stressed that Ramadi remains contested.
Another U.S. military official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told CNN that the fall of Ramadi is “not imminent.”
Sizable parts of the city are under ISIS control or influence, but the area has been a target of a months-long offensive, that official said.
Photos: The ISIS terror threat
PHOTO:
Ketevan Kardava/Getty Images
Wounded passengers are treated following a suicide bombing at the Brussels Airport on March 22, 2016. The attacks on the airport and a subway killed 32 people and wounded more than 300. ISIS claims its "fighters" launched the attacks in the Belgian capital.
Photos: The ISIS terror threat
PHOTO:
STRINGER/AFP/Getty Images
Syrians gather at the site of a double car bomb attack in the Al-Zahraa neighborhood of the Homs, Syria, on February 21, 2016. Multiple attacks in Homs and southern Damascus kill at least 122 and injure scores, according to the state-run SANA news agency. ISIS claimed responsibility.
Photos: The ISIS terror threat
PHOTO:
LOUAI BESHARA/AFP/Getty Images
Syrian pro-government forces gather at the site of a deadly triple bombing Sunday, January 31, in the Damascus suburb of Sayeda Zeynab. ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack, according to a statement circulating online from supporters of the terrorist group.
Photos: The ISIS terror threat
PHOTO:
Wael Qubady/AP
Yemenis check the scene of a car bomb attack Sunday, December 6, in Aden, Yemen. Aden Gov. Jaafar Saad and six bodyguards died in the attack, for which the terror group ISIS claimed responsibility.
Photos: The ISIS terror threat
PHOTO:
AP
Investigators check the scene of a mosque attack Friday, November 27, in northern Bangladesh's Bogra district. ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attack that left at least one person dead and three more wounded.
Photos: The ISIS terror threat
PHOTO:
YOAN VALAT/EPA/LANDOV
Wounded people are helped outside the Bataclan concert hall in Paris following a series of coordinated attacks in the city on Friday, November 13. The militant group ISIS claimed responsibility for the attacks, which killed at least 130 people and wounded hundreds more.
Photos: The ISIS terror threat
PHOTO:
Bilal Hussein/AP
Emergency personnel and civilians gather at the site of a twin suicide bombing in Beirut, Lebanon, on Thursday, November 12. The bombings killed at least 43 people and wounded more than 200 more. ISIS appeared to claim responsibility in a statement posted on social media.
Photos: The ISIS terror threat
PHOTO:
Bram Janssen/AP
Smoke rises over the northern Iraqi town of Sinjar on November 12. Kurdish Iraqi fighters, backed by a U.S.-led air campaign, retook the strategic town, which ISIS militants overran last year. ISIS wants to create an Islamic state across Sunni areas of Iraq and Syria.
Photos: The ISIS terror threat
PHOTO:
SANA/AP
Syrian government troops walk inside the Kweiras air base on Wednesday, November 11, after they broke a siege imposed by ISIS militants.
Photos: The ISIS terror threat
PHOTO:
Maxim Grigoriev/Russian Ministry for Emergency Situations/AP
Members of the Egyptian military approach the wreckage of a Russian passenger plane Sunday, November 1, in Hassana, Egypt. The plane crashed the day before, killing all 224 people on board. ISIS claimed responsibility for downing the plane, but the group's claim wasn't immediately verified.
Photos: The ISIS terror threat
PHOTO:
Gokhan Sahin/Getty Images
An explosion rocks Kobani, Syria, during a reported car bomb attack by ISIS militants on Tuesday, October 20.
Photos: The ISIS terror threat
PHOTO:
AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP/Getty Images
Shiite fighters, fighting alongside Iraqi government forces, fire a rocket at ISIS militants as they advance toward the center of Baiji, Iraq, on Monday, October 19.
Photos: The ISIS terror threat
PHOTO:
AP
Smoke rises above a damaged building in Ramadi, Iraq, following a coalition airstrike against ISIS positions on Saturday, August 15.
Photos: The ISIS terror threat
PHOTO:
AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP/AFP/Getty Images
Iraqi men look at damage following a bomb explosion that targeted a vegetable market in Baghdad on Thursday, August 13. ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack.
Photos: The ISIS terror threat
PHOTO:
From ISIS
In this image taken from social media, an ISIS fighter holds the group's flag after the militant group overran the Syrian town of al-Qaryatayn on Thursday, August 6, the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported. ISIS uses modern tools such as social media to promote reactionary politics and religious fundamentalism. Fighters are destroying holy sites and valuable antiquities even as their leaders propagate a return to the early days of Islam.
Photos: The ISIS terror threat
PHOTO:
From ISIS
An ISIS fighter poses with spoils purportedly taken after capturing the Syrian town of al-Qaryatayn.
Photos: The ISIS terror threat
PHOTO:
AP
Smoke rises as Iraqi security forces bomb ISIS positions in the eastern suburbs of Ramadi, Iraq, on August 6.
Photos: The ISIS terror threat
PHOTO:
AP
Buildings reduced to piles of debris can be seen in the eastern suburbs of Ramadi on August 6.
Photos: The ISIS terror threat
PHOTO:
Saudi Press Agency/AP
The governor of the Asir region in Saudi Arabia, Prince Faisal bin Khaled bin Abdulaziz, left, visits a man who was wounded in a suicide bombing attack on a mosque in Abha, Saudi Arabia, on August 6. ISIS claimed responsibility for the explosion, which killed at least 13 people and injured nine others.
Photos: The ISIS terror threat
PHOTO:
Saudi Press Agency/AP
Saudi officials and investigators check the inside of the mosque on August 6.
Photos: The ISIS terror threat
PHOTO:
Gokhan Sahin/Getty Images
Mourners in Gaziantep, Turkey, grieve over a coffin Tuesday, July 21, during a funeral ceremony for the victims of a suspected ISIS suicide bomb attack. That bombing killed at least 31 people in Suruc, a Turkish town that borders Syria. Turkish authorities blamed ISIS for the attack.
Photos: The ISIS terror threat
PHOTO:
YASIN AKGUL/AFP/Getty Images
Protesters in Istanbul carry anti-ISIS banners and flags to show support for victims of the Suruc suicide blast during a demonstration on Monday, July 20.