Thousands Fleeing IS Are 'Barred From Baghdad'

Following the takeover of Ramadi, Baghdad is on high alert.

In Mosul, over loud speakers in the mosques, IS announced to their followers that Baghdad would soon be in their control.

But it's not the first time the militants have made that promise, and extra reinforcements have been called in to make sure the capital is secure.

The counter offensive to take back Ramadi is also under way.

At checkpoints in Baghdad, soldiers look for militants who may be trying to sneak in with displaced Iraqis. Dozens of new checkpoints have been set up around the city, with names being checked against a database.

The commander in charge admits there's a threat but says his men are prepared.

Brigadier Jabbar el Taee, who heads the 17th Division of the Iraqi army, told Sky News: "I'm ready with my soldiers to fight and to protect my country.

"ISIS are trying to kill everyone, old people, children - my concern is to protect my citizens."

But with recent defeats, the Iraqi government and US led coalition's strategy for pushing back IS may be unravelling.

There's a fear that the problem is not so much that IS is gaining in strength, but that there simply isn't a force strong enough to confront them.

The militants now control most of Anbar, the country's largest province.

In the past few days, Islamic State fighters have taken control not only of Ramadi, but also towns and villages around it, as well as the Albo Kamal crossing point between Iraq and Syria.

The result has been a mass exodus of people forced to leave almost everything they own behind. Their homes have been looted and burned by the militants.

It's mainly women and children walking miles to get to Baghdad in the heat and dust.

In a makeshift tent near the Bzabz bridge into Baghdad, a woman told Sky News how her family had to walk over dead bodies to escape IS in Ramadi.

Brothers, sisters and parents were left behind with the extremist group. Another man told us he saw the militants kill his brother just before he fled.

Every displaced person has to register to be able to enter Baghdad.

But if you don't have a sponsor in the capital that can vouch for you, then you are not let in.

Thousands are stuck near the entrance with nowhere to go and little food or water.

The Iraqi government says it is doing all it can for the displaced, but they have to make sure they are not letting militants into the capital.

The choice for thousands of people is impossible: live in fear back home or in humiliation in the camps.