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43 killed in suicide bomb, battles between IS, security forces in Iraq

Xinhua, May 2, 2015 Adjust font size:

A total of 43 people were killed on Saturday in a suicide car bombing and heavy clashes between the Iraqi security forces and Islamic State (IS) militants in Iraq's western province of Anbar, provincial security sources said.

The security forces and allied militias, known as Hashd Shaabi, or Popular Mobilization, clashed with the IS militants in east of the IS-held town of Garma, just east of the city of Fallujah, some 50 km west of the capital of Baghdad, leaving 17 IS militants killed and four houses used by the militants destroyed, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

Meanwhile, at least 12 soldiers and allied militiamen were killed and eight others wounded when a suicide bomber drove an explosive-laden Humvee into a military headquarters near Garma, the source said.

On Thursday, the security forces and allied militias imposed a siege on Garma, while fierce clashes continued to enter the town, but the militants showed heavy resistance and planted dozens of roadside bombs and booby-trapped buildings and vehicles to prevent the advance of the troops.

Also in the province, the security forces and allied Sunni tribal fighters backed by the U.S.-led coalition took control of al-Theilah district in eastern part of the provincial capital city of Ramadi, some 110 km west of Baghdad, after hours of heavy clashes with the IS militants, a security source from the city told Xinhua.

The clashes in the city left at least 10 militants killed and two of their vehicles destroyed, while four security members were also killed and 13 others wounded, the source said.

The battles in Ramadi are part of ongoing clashes between the Iraqi forces and the IS militants who previously gained more ground last month in northern, eastern and central parts of the city, pushing the Iraqi government to send reinforcement troops to the city to regain ground in some of the city districts.

The IS group has seized most of Iraq's largest province of Anbar and tried to advance toward Baghdad, but several counter attacks by security forces and Shiite militias have pushed them back.

The security situation in Iraq has drastically deteriorated since last June, when bloody clashes broke out between Iraqi security forces and the IS militants. Endit