26 killed in 2 suicide bombings, clashes with IS in Iraq

A total of 26 people were killed Thursday in clashes with Islamic State (IS) militants and two truck-bomb-suicide-attacks targeting Iraqi security forces in the volatile province of Anbar, according to a provincial security source.

In one attack, nine security members were killed and 16 others injured when a suicide bomber detonated his explosive-laden truck at a military base outside the town of Baghdadi, 200 km northwest of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

Another suicide bomber rammed his explosive-packed truck into an outpost near al-Mazraa military camp east of the IS-held city of Fallujah, 50 km west of Baghdad, leaving five soldiers dead and eight others wounded, the source said.

Meanwhile, security forces and allied paramilitary militias known as "Hashd Shaabi," or popular mobilization, attacked IS posts at Juweiba, just east of Anbar's provincial capital city of Ramadi, located 110 km west of Baghdad, killing 12 militants - including three suicide bombers wearing explosive vests - and destroying five IS vehicles, the source added.

Iraqi authorities announced the launch of a major offensive against IS militants on July 13 to free key cities and towns in Iraq's largest province of Anbar from IS militants.

Iraqi security forces and allied Hashd Shaabi paramilitary militias have been fighting for months to regain control of key cities and towns in the province of Anbar since IS militants seized most of it and attempted to advance towards the capital city of Baghdad, however several counterattacks by security forces and Shiite militias repelled them.

The security situation in Iraq has deteriorated drastically since June 10 of last year, when bloody clashes broke out between Iraqi security forces and IS. Endit