Special to WorldTribune.com

Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) used a series of car bombs to attack the capital of Iraq’s Anbar Province in the early morning hours of May 15.

When the smoke cleared, ISIL had raised its flag in the government compound of Ramadi.

Iraqi hospital officials said at least 11 people were killed in the overnight terror campaign.

ISIL jihadists set off six car bombs around the key provincial capital in western Iraq in order to gain access to the city center, where a witness told Reuters the group’s black flag was hoisted.

The battle for Ramadi was seen as a standoff until ISIL stepped up its offensive in April and gained ground to the north and east of the city.

In Friday’s attack, Iraqi security forces said ISIL used an armored bulldozer to take down blast barriers that blocked the road to Ramadi’s police department. With the barriers down, ISIL blew up a vehicle once it reached the police HQ.

An explosives-laden Humvee was set off at the city’s education department and a third car bomb hit the western entrance to the governorate building in central Ramadi.

Three more car bombs were set off near the Anbar Operations Command on the city’s west side.

  Iraq, ISIL raises flag in Ramadi after devastating overnight assault, Islamic state, Ramadi