ON SUNDAY, THE Islamic State took the city of Ramadi.

The provincial capital of Iraq’s western Anbar province was, at one time, a bustling city of nearly half a million people.

It was the scene of bitter fighting in both 2004 and 2006, but had managed to return to something resembling normalcy.

Now, however, it is abandoned.

ABC’s Jon Williams says it is a “ghost town” and this video reinforces that.

Iraq’s military has been massing on the city all week in an attempt to take it back from ISIS before it builds up its defences.

“The US government and Iraqi government seem to be on the same sheet of music that Ramadi has to be counterattacked before IS consolidates,” Michael Knights of the Washington Institute said.

US Secretary of State John Kerry said on Monday he was “absolutely confident” that the situation could be reversed within days.

Tens of thousands of residents of the city who fled when ISIS gained control will hope that he is right.

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