Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/513039
BySameerN.Yacoub The Associated Press BAGHDAD Islamic State militants seized the main government headquarters in Ramadi, raising their black flag over the com- pound and setting it ablaze hours after a series of sui- cide car bombings heralded the start of a major new of- fensive by the extremists on the strategic city. The advance marked a significant setback for the Iraqi government in its long fight to defend Ra- madi, the capital of west- ern Anbar province, where Iraqi forces have made lit- tle progress against the extremist group despite months of U.S.-led air- strikes. The capture of the com- pound — which houses a police headquarters as well as provincial and munici- pal offices — followed a co- ordinated attack in which three near-simultaneous suicide car bombs killed at least 10 police officers and wounded dozens more, Ramadi's Mayor Dalaf al- Kubaisi said. He said two Humvees previously seized from the Iraqi army were used in the attack. Islamic State fighters also seized other parts of the city and attacked the Anbar Operation Com- mand, the military head- quarters for the province, al-Kubaisi said. As they advanced, the militants carried out mass killings in which dozens of captured security forces and their families were slain, said Anbar provin- cial councilman Taha Ab- dul-Ghani. The victims included some 30 tribal fighters al- lied with the Iraqi forces in the battle against IS, said another councilman, Athal al-Fahdawi. In the Jamiaa district of Ramadi, IS gun- men stormed the house of a policeman, Ahmed Mo- hammed, and shot him dead along with his wife, 12-year-old son and 4-year- old daughter. Dozens of families were forced to flee their homes in the area, al-Fahdawi said. The head of Anbar's pro- vincial council, Sabah Kar- hout, appealed to the cen- tral government in Bagh- dad to send reinforcements and urged the U.S.-led co- alition to increase air- strikes against the mili- tants in Ramadi. "The city is undergoing vicious attack by Daesh and we are in dire need of any kind of assistance," Karhout said, using an Ara- bic acronym for the Islamic State group. In Washington, State Department spokesman Jeff Rathke said the U.S. conducted "numerous air- strikes" in Ramadi on Fri- day as part of its support for Iraqi security forces fighting the Islamic State group. "There will be good days and bad days in Iraq," Rathke told reporters. "ISIL is trying to make to- day a bad day in Ramadi. We've said all along we see this as a long-term fight." U.S. troops saw some of the heaviest fighting of the eight-year Iraq war in the sprawling desert province of Anbar, and Ramadi was a major insurgent stronghold. The IS group captured the nearby city of Fallujah and parts of Ramadi in January 2014, two years after U.S. forceswithdrewandmonths before its main sweep across northern and western Iraq last summer. IRAQ IS s ei ze s go ve rn me nt compound in Ramadi PHOTOSBYTHEASSOCIATEDPRESS Security forces defend their headquarters against attacks by Islamic State extremists during a sand storm in the eastern part of Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province, Iraq, on Thursday. Iraqi family members prepare to leave their hometown of Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province, Iraq, on Friday. BERNAT ARMANGUE — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS A Nepalese army chopper that spotted the suspected wreckage of a U.S. Marine helicopter lands at the airport in Kathmandu, Nepal, on Friday. By Binaj Gurubacharya and Nirmala George The Associated Press KATHMANDU, NEPAL Nep- alese rescuers on Friday found three bodies near the wreckage of a U.S. Ma- rine helicopter that disap- peared this week during a relief mission in the earth- quake-hit Himalayan na- tion, and officials said it was unlikely there were any sur- vivors from the crash. "The wreckage of the he- licopter was found in pieces, and there are no chances of any survivors," Nepal's defense secretary, Iswori Poudyal said. He did not give the nationalities of the three victims, only saying their remains were charred. The helicopter was car- rying six Marines and two Nepalese army soldiers. A separate team sent by the U.S. Marines said they identified the wreckage as the missing helicopter, the UH-1 "Huey." Lt. Gen. John Wissler, commander of the Marine- led joint task force, told re- porters in Kathmandu that his team could not imme- diately identify the cause of the crash or identify the bodies found. "It was very severe crash, and based on what we saw in the condition of the air- craft, we believe there were no survivors," he said. He said extreme weather and difficult terrain ham- pered his team's efforts to work at the crash site. "Due to the extremely dif- ficult terrain of the site of the mishap, below-freezing temperatures and violent winds and thunderstorms, I made the decision to cease the recovery efforts for this evening," he said. "We can- not afford to put U.S. or Nepalese service members at any further risk." Speaking in Washington, President Barack Obama expressed condolences to the families of all the vic- tims and said the Marines "represent a truth that guides our work around the world: When our friends are in need, America helps." The wreckage was found about 15 miles from the town of Charikot, near where the aircraft went missing on Tuesday while delivering humanitarian aid to villages hit by two deadly earthquakes, ac- cording to the U.S. military joint task force in Okinawa, Japan. Nepal rescuers find 3 bodies near crashed US Marine chopper EARTHQUAKE Select"Subscribe"tabinlowerrightcorner Complete information for automatic weekly delivery to your email inbox That's it! This FREE service made possible by the advertisers in TV Select Magazine Kindly patronize and thank them. Click on their ads online to access their websites! FREE online subscription to TV Select Magazine Digital edition emailed to you, every Saturday! Just go online to www.ifoldsflip.com/t/5281 (You'll only need to go there one time) N EWS D AILY REDBLUFF TEHAMACOUNTY • Fully searchable online, zoom in, print out pages and more! • No newspaper online subscription or website access required. • Best of all ... it's ABSOLUTELY FREE! Please help sponsor a classroom subscription Call Kathy at (530) 737-5047 to find out how. ThroughtheNewspapersinEducation program, area classrooms receive the Red Bluff Daily News every day thanks to the generosity of these local businesses & individuals. •DR.ASATO&DR.MARTIN • FIDELITY NATIONAL TITLE CO. • DOLLING INSURANCE • GUMM'S OPTICAL SHOPPE • OLIVE CITY QUICK LUBE • QRC • WALMART • TEHAMA CO. DEPT. OF ED. • JOHN WHEELER LOGGING, INC. • DUDLEY'S EXCAVATING, INC. • ETZLER FINANCIAL & INSURANCE • OLIVE CITY TAX PROFESSIONALS • PLACER TITLE COMPANY • AIRPORT AUTO REPAIR • GREENWASTE OF TEHAMA • NORTH MAIN AUTOMOTIVE • RED BLUFF VISION CENTER • STEVE'S BACKHOE SERVICE • SCHOOL HOUSE MARKET THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING N EWS D AILY RED BLUFF TEHAMA COUNTY E V O I C E O F T E H A M A C O U N TY S I N C E 1 8 8 5 NEWSPAPERS NIE • WING SOLAR & WOOD ENERGY | NEWS | REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM SATURDAY, MAY 16, 2015 6 B