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Iraqi security forces continue anti-IS operation in Salahudin, Anbar provinces

Xinhua, March 4, 2016 Adjust font size:

Iraqi security forces on Thursday continued operation to clear the Islamic State (IS) militants from the vast rural area in Salahudin province, while the troops repelled IS attacks on security forces in the western Anbar province.

The troops, together with allied paramilitary Hashd Shaabi units and local tribal fighters continued their advance in Jazira area, which stretches in the open land in west of Samarra and the provincial capital city of Tirkit, some 170 km north of Baghdad, a source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

The troops, which were covered by Iraqi and U.S.-led coalition air power, engaged in sporadic clashes with IS militants in several areas, the source said without elaborating.

The troops also extended their advance to Tharthar Lake on the provincial border between Salahudin and Anbar, cutting the IS supply routes between northern and central Iraq, the source said.

The major offensive resulted in killing of 50 militants and the destruction of more than 30 booby-trapped vehicles, in addition to seizing large amounts of weapons and ammunition in three days, the source added.

Meanwhile, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, also the commander-in-chief of Iraqi forces, arrived in Samarra, some 120 km north of Baghdad, and visited the troops in the Liyn area, some 20 km west of Samarra, according to the official Iraqiya television.

In Iraq's western province of Anbar, dozens of IS militants with a suicide truck bomb attacked an army position in Hamdhiyah area, a provincial security source anonymously told Xinhua.

The troops fought fierce clashes with the attackers and managed to repel the attack, leaving 15 IS militants killed and destroying the suicide truck bomb by anti-tank guided missiles, the source said.

Last month, the security forces and allied Sunni paramilitary units recaptured Hamdhiyah area and raised the Iraqi flag on some buildings after fierce clashes with IS militants.

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