MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Islamic State militants have blocked a dam in the central newly-captured Iraqi city of Ramadi, stopping the flow of fresh water downstream, a member of the council of Anbar governorate said.
The flow of fresh water to the cities of Khaldiya and Habbaniyah has been interrupted, Taha Abdulgani told Sky News Arabia. According to the councilor, when the Euphrates river levels are low enough, the militants will cross the riverbed and move their fighters into those cities.
On May 17, the Islamic State took control of Ramadi, the capital of ISIL-dominated Anbar governorate, some 70 miles west of Baghdad. Hundreds of Iraqi security forces were killed in the battle and many more fled the city.
The Islamic State militant group took over large parts of Syria and Iraq, and has committed murder and human rights atrocities in both countries.