Iraqi forces repel IS attack in Iraq's Anbar province

Iraqi security forces on Tuesday repelled an attack by the Islamic State (IS) militants outside the IS-held city of Ramadi, the capital of Iraq's western province of Anbar, while a suicide truck bomb struck the troops in the northern central province of Salahudin, security sources said.

In Anbar province, fierce clashes erupted in the early morning hours when the security forces repelled the attack of dozens of IS militants on troops' positions in Anbar University complex just west of Ramadi, some 110 km west of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, a provincial security source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

The troops forced the attackers to withdraw after leaving at least 17 IS militants killed and five of their vehicles charred at the scene, the source said.

The security forces have reached the edges of Ramadi and imposed siege on the extremist militants inside, preparing for a major battle to free the city, while the army artillery and aircraft intensified their bombardment on the IS positions in the city, the source added.

Also in the province, at least six IS militants were killed when Iraqi aircraft conducted an air strike on a car bomb making factory in the town of al-Baghdadi, some 200 km northwest of Baghdad, the source said, adding that at least two booby-trapped cars were destroyed by the attack.

The attacks in Anbar province came as Iraqi security forces and allied militias have been fighting for months to retake control of key cities and towns in Iraq's largest province from the extremist IS militants, which seized most of Anbar and tried to advance toward Baghdad.

In Salahudin province, a suicide bomber detonated his explosive-laden tanker truck near the security forces and allied paramilitary militia, known as Hashd Shaabi, in Thirthar area in west of Samarra, a city located some 120 km north of Baghdad, leaving at least two security members killed and 10 others wounded, a provincial security source anonymously told Xinhua.

The attack in Salahudin province came as the security forces and allied Hashd Shaabi militias have been pushing on toward IS stronghold in the city of Shirqat, some 280 km north of Baghdad, and the town of Hawijah, some 90 km west of the northern city of Kirkuk, to free them from the extremist militants as part of of the second phase of major offensive announced earlier in the month by Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, who is also Commander-in-chief of Iraqi armed forces, aimed at freeing towns seized by the IS group since June 2014 in the northern part of Salahudin province.

Earlier, the troops retook control of Iraq's largest oil refinery near Baiji and the town of Seiniyah, some 10 km west of Baiji.

Iraq has been witnessing some of the worst violence in years. Terrorism and violence have left at least 12,282 civilians killed and 23,126 others injured in 2014, making it the deadliest year since the sectarian violence broke out in the 2006-2007 period, according to a recent UN report. Endit