Mutilated bodies of Iraqi soldiers and civilians lie scattered around the roads in Ramadi, as the Islamic State (Isis) militants let loose a reign of terror soon after taking over the key-Iraqi city.
Some of the dead were being dumped into the Euphrates River by the Isis, images released by the militant group show. A Daily Mail report claimed that the Isis had carried out a mass killing of Iraqi soldiers and civilians after capturing the strategic city of Ramadi.
At least 500 people, including civilians, are feared to have been killed by the Isis in the last few days, a spokesman for governor of Anbar province told Reuters on Monday.
"Until this moment we don't have an accurate figure for the casualties in Ramadi, but our initial estimates show that around 500 people were killed, including civilians and security forces members," Muhanad Haimour said. "Also between 6,000 and 8,000 people were displaced".
Despite the air support by US coalition jets, the Isis terrorists dealt a crushing blow to the Iraqis as the government security forces abandoned their posts and fled the city leaving behind the wounded soldiers on Sunday.
Beirut-based correspondent for The Washington Post, Hugh Naylor, noted on Twitter account: "Hundreds of Iraqi soldiers, police escape ISIS-besieged military operations centre in Ramadi, but wounded left behind, we're told."
A video published on BBC shows Iraqi soldiers retreating from the city in humvees, another shows scores of soldiers scrambling out to flee Ramadi.
After the Isis militants confirming their victory in Ramadi, the Iraqi government have now asked the Shia militia group to be deployed in Anbar province to stop the dreaded group. Al Jazeera's Zeina Khodr, reporting from Baghdad, said on Monday that Shia-led militia will lead a counter-offensive against Isis in Ramadi.
"They operate under the government-sanctioned Popular Mobilisation Forces and were responsible for pushing [Isis] from Diyala and Salahuddin," Khodr said.
