Officials: Iraqi city of Ramadi falls to Islamic State

BAGHDAD — The Islamic State seized control of the key Iraqi city of Ramadi on Sunday, the biggest victory for the extremists this year despite stepped-up U.S.-led airstrikes targeting the region, according to officials in Anbar province.

"Ramadi has fallen," Muhannad Haimour, a spokesman for Anbar province, said as Iraqi forces withdrew from the city. "The city was completely taken. … It was a gradual deterioration. The military is fleeing."

The U.S. Central Command was not yet ready to concede the city to the Islamic State, saying that Ramadi remains "contested."