35 killed in clashes, air strikes in Iraq's Anbar

A total of 35 people were killed and 31 others wounded on Wednesday in clashes with Islamic State (IS) militants and air strikes in the Iraqi province of Anbar, a provincial security source said.

The deadliest clashes occurred in the morning between IS militants and security forces backed by allied Sunni tribal fighters in al-Madhij area in east of the IS-held provincial capital city of Ramadi, some 110 km west of Baghdad, leaving 17 security members and Sunni fighters killed and 12 others wounded, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

The troops and allied Sunni fighters managed to drive out the IS militants from some of their positions at the battlefield after the Iraqi aircraft intervene, the source said, adding that at least eight IS militants were killed and five others injured by the clashes and air strikes.

Separately, a suicide bomber detonated his explosive-laden military truck at a military base housing security forces and Shiite militias known as Hashd Shaabi, or popular mobilization, in Abu Flies area, just east of Ramadi, killing seven security members and allied militiamen and wounding six others, along with destroying two military vehicles, the source said.

Also in the province, at least three people were killed and eight wounded in an air strike in Halabsa area in west of the militant-seized city of Fallujah, some 50 km west of Baghdad, the source added.

On July 13, the Iraqi authorities announced the start of a major offensive against IS militants to free key cities and towns in the largest province of Anbar province from IS militants.

Iraqi security forces and allied Hashd Shaabi paramilitary militias have been fighting for months to retake control of key cities and towns in Iraq's largest province of Anbar since the IS militants seized most of it and tried to advance toward capital Baghdad, but several counter attacks by security forces and Shiite militias have pushed them back. Endit