ISIS did not leave one meter in the city without explosives that are sown in the streets, homes and shops, and have to be detonated from afar or else, they will blow whoever comes close.

After seven months from being taken over by ISIS militants, the first look on the city of Ramadi shows that the massive damage has horribly altered the features of the city lying on the Euphrates River bank.

Residential neighborhoods are totally destroyed. Government and commercial buildings are leveled to the ground, even the land is no longer the way it was before the militants come. The liberated districts of Ramadi have become horrifyingly grim: a ghost town littered with debris and smashed concrete, destroyed storefronts, plumes of smoke, the sound of gunfire piercing the air.

In al-Andalus neighborhood in the center of Ramadi, Asharq Al-Awsat was witness to citizens and Iraqi armed forces celebrating and even preparing feasts.

Al-Anbar Governor, Suhaib al-Rawi, told Asharq Al-Awsat that Al-Anbar government will face a new challenge, which is reconstructing the liberated city, especially that it is completely damaged. Al-Anbar provincial Council announced the destruction of 85% of the city’s infrastructure. Thus, it requires large sums of money and a lot of time to be reconstructed. Al-Rawi added that the terrorist organization has damaged massively all the bridges and main roads. They smashed the electricity, sewage, and drinking water networks in addition to the houses there.

Moreover, Suhaib al-Rawi said that the money al-Anbar city needs to rebuild the city is estimated to reach a ten-year budget, so he asked the central government to establish a special fund for the reconstruction of the city, which needs international efforts.