More than 2,000 families have fled the Iraqi city of Ramadi after ISIS forces intensified their offensive on the Iraqi city . According to Iraqi officials , ISIS fighters have nearly surrounded the capital of western Anbar province , despite the best efforts of the Iraqi army and arriving Shiite paramilitary reinforcements . The advance is widely seen as an ISIS 's attempt at an counteroffensive after being forced to abandon the important Iraqi city of Tikrit , earlier this month . American troops previously fought some of their bloodiest battles against al-Qaida insurgents in Ramadi during the eight-year U.S. intervention . Prior to the current bout of fighting , some 400,000 Iraqis were already displaced , including 60,000 in Ramadi district , according to the International Organization for Migration . Hundreds of U.S. troops have been training Iraqi forces at Ain al-Asad military base , situated west of Ramadi . Iraqi government forces still control the city center but appear to be struggling after months of ISIS pressure from the suburbs of the city . Video obtained by The Associated Press showed plumes of thick , black smoke billowing above the city as fighter jets pounded militant targets . On the city outskirts , displaced residents frantically tried to make their way out amid the heavy bombardment . Officials confirmed that US led coalition air strikes had targeted the three villages recently taken by ISIS on Wednesday . More than 2,000 families have fled the Iraqi city of Ramadi with little more than the clothes on their backs , turning the city into a ghost town . Hundreds of U.S. troops have reportedly been training units of Iraqi forces at a military base , located west of Ramadi . Supplies including tents and food has already been dispatched to the terrified families , now living in difficult conditions in the suburbs of Baghdad . Fleeing residents now in Baghdad said that Ramadi resembled an ghost town . Anbar 's deputy governor , Faleh al-Issawi , described the situation in Ramadi as `` catastrophic '' and urged the central government to send in reinforcements . `` We urge the Baghdad government to supply us immediately with troops and weapons in order to help us prevent the city from falling into the hands of the IS group , '' he told the Associated Press in a telephone interview . Ramadi was once the battlefield for US forces eight year battle against insurgents during the 2003 Iraq war . Since ISIS captured Fallujah over a year ago , it has been targeting Ramadi . Shiite paramilitary groups and further Iraqi army reinforcements are expected to arrive in the coming days to try and prevent ISIS from taking Ramadi . Iraqi forces have been assisted by US led coalition air strikes , which targeted three villages recently captured by ISIS . Stephane Dujarric , spokesman for the U.N. secretary-general , said access to the city was limited but humanitarian workers were trying to verify the reports of fleeing residents . Prior to the current bout of fighting , some 400,000 Iraqis were already displaced , including 60,000 in Ramadi district , according to the International Organization for Migration . Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi , who was visiting Washington on Wednesday , did not mention fears surrounding Ramadi . Instead he praised the 5,000 Sunni tribal fighters who have reportedly enlisted to help defend Ramadi and other strategic towns in Anbar province . If Ramadi does fall to ISIS , it would be the first major Iraqi city to be taken by the extremist group since militants seized Mosul in June 2014 . Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article .
Houses and shops have been left deserted as resident try to escape the worsening violence . Months of Iraqi pressure has left ISIS forces outnumbered inside the city . US forces previously waged a eight year battle against insurgents in Ramadi and Fallujah .