Security forces foil six suicide car bomb attacks in Iraq's Anbar

Iraqi security forces on Tuesday foiled six suicide car bomb attacks by Islamic State (IS) militants in Iraq's western province of Anbar, a provincial security source said.

The suicide attack targeted the positions of the security forces and allied Sunni Arab paramilitary units, known as Hashd Shaabi, in the areas of Abu Eitha, Albu Farraj and Albu Dhiyab in northern edges of the IS-held city of Ramadi, some 110 km west of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

The troops destroyed the car bombs by anti-tank guided missiles before they reach their targets, killing all the suicide bombers aboard, the source said.

The latest suicide attacks came as the security forces and Hashd Shaabi units have recently made significant advance in Ta'mim district in southern Ramadi and in several areas on the edges of the city as part of their operations to flush out IS militants from Ramadi.

The troops have been fighting for months to retake control of key cities and towns in Iraq's largest province from IS militants, who have seized most of Anbar and tried to advance toward Baghdad.

In Salahudin province, a policeman was killed and three others wounded, including an officer, during an anti-IS operation aimed at clearing an area located south of the town of Alam, just east of the provincial capital city of Tikrit, some 170 km north of Baghdad, a provincial security source told Xinhua.

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