Iraqi soldiers advance their position in northern Ramadi, 70 miles west of Baghdad on Monday. | AP Photo Pentagon: Fall of Ramadi 'inevitable' as Iraqi forces pour in

Iraqi forces have crossed the Euphrates River from the West and are moving into downtown Ramadi, which has been under the control of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant since May, according to Col. Steven Warren, a U.S. military spokesman in Baghdad.

“The fall of Ramadi is inevitable,” Warren told reporters this morning in his latest update on operations against ISIL. He said there were about 250 to 350 ISIL fighters left in the city and that Iraqi forces are working now to drive them from the dense, urban terrain.


He also noted that the Iraqi government had not requested the use of Boeing-made Apache helicopters in its effort to retake Ramadi. Earlier this month, Defense Secretary Ash Carter offered up the attack helicopters, telling a congressional panel the United States would be willing to provide them if requested.

Warren this morning added that Iraqi forces in Fallujah had recovered an ISIL document that instructed the group’s fighters on how to behave as they exited the city. It directed them to impersonate Iraqi forces and commit atrocities to discredit the Iraqi government, according to Warren.

“We’re starting to see a change in their behavior that may be related to desperation,” he said.