article_snippet.sent: From CNN)Falih Essawi point of view, ISIS militants might be just hours away from taking the city Wednesday.
article_snippet.sent: Fierce fighting has engulfed Ramadi, which lies only about 70 miles (113 kilometers) west of Baghdad and is the capital of Anbar province, Iraq's Sunni heartland.
article_snippet.sent: The extremist group's offensive in Ramadi shows The extremist group's offensive in Ramadi resilience despite months of U.S.-led airstrikes and The extremist group's offensive in Ramadi recent defeat by Iraqi forces in the northern city of Tikrit.
article_snippet.sent: ISIS fighters have Ramadi under pressure from several angles.
article_snippet.sent: CNN)Falih Essawi said ISIS militants made significant advances Wednesday in three areas east of Ramadi: Albu Soda, Albu Ghanem and parts of Soufia, which leads to RamadiRamadi.
article_snippet.sent: Later, CNN)Falih Essawi said that militants were rolling into the center of Ramadi.
article_snippet.sent: Over the weekend, militants seized control of areas north of Ramadi.
article_snippet.sent: That leaves only areas to the west of Ramadi in the hands of government forces, but those positions are under threat,
article_snippet.sent: People also were fleeing the areas where ISIS was advancing east of Ramadi.
article_snippet.sent: Ramadi has seen intense and persistent fighting for months.
article_snippet.sent: ISIS took over parts of Ramadi in the first half of last year, placing ISIS at the heart of a deadly tug of war ever since.
article_snippet.sent: The U.S. military has carried out multiple airstrikes against ISIS targets near Ramadi in recent weeks.
article_snippet.sent: The coalition has been supporting the fight in Ramadi with airstrikes, and there have been seven airstrikes in Ramadi since Monday," Col. Ed Thomas, spokesman for Joint Chiefs Chairman Col. Martin Dempsey, said on Wednesday.
article_snippet.sent: Joint Chiefs Chairman Col. Martin Dempsey stressed that Ramadi remains contested.
article_snippet.sent: Sizable parts of Ramadi are under ISIS control or influence, but the area has been a target of a months-long offensive, that official said.