Iraq Imposes Curfew in Ramadi to Prevent Islamic State Advance

Iraq imposed a curfew in the western city of Ramadi Friday, in the wake of fears that the Islamic State militants may take over the city.

Sabah Karhout, chairman of the Anbar provincial council said that the curfew aimed to limit the movement in and out of the city as Iraqi security forces geared up to fight pockets of resistance.

Ramadi, the capital of the Anbar province, is located 70 miles west of Iraqi capital Baghdad.

Establishing control over Ramadi would help the Islamic State militants get hold of another corridor between Syria and Iraq for the transportation of fighters and weapons.

One of the reasons that Islamic State militants were not able to completely capture Ramadi is because of the resistance from the main Sunni tribes in the city. When the Haditha Dam in Anbar was attacked by the Islamic State, the Jughaifi and al-Bunimer tribes helped the Iraqi Special Forces in the fight.

In his weekly Friday sermon, Iraq's most revered Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al Sistani, said Iraqi tribes have always been there to protect Iraq and its people.

"We urge the Iraq faithful tribesmen, especially those in western Iraq who have been subjected to a fierce campaign by Daesh in recent months, to trust their abilities, and the ability of the Iraqi army to defeat those gangs," al-Sistani said in a speech delivered by his spokesman Abdul-Mahdi al-Karbalie, reports the Associated Press. Daesh is the Arabic acronym of Islamic State.

Meanwhile, at least 20 people were killed in a series of car bombs across Baghdad on Friday night, medical and police officials said, reports Reuters.

In the Shi'ite area of Baladiyat, a parked car exploded near a coffee shop, killing nine people and injuring 28.

In another blast in Slaikh, , nine people were killed and 28 injured while a car bomb explosion near a row of liquor stores in Karrada killed six people and injured 14 others, officials added.

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