Two civilians killed in suicide attack in western Iraq

Three suicide bombers and two civilians were killed when the bombers affiliated with Islamic State (IS) group attacked the town of Haditha in Iraq's western province of Anbar, a local security source told Xinhua on Monday.

The attack occurred in the early morning when three suicide bombers infiltrated into al-Teen outskirts of Haditha, some 200 km northwest of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, and holed up into a house, the source said on condition of anonymity, adding the householder was shot dead.

The security forces rushed to the scene and surrounded the house, the source said.

The security forces exchanged heavy fire with the suicide bombers and forced them to blow up their explosive, killing them all along with killing another family member and wounding four others, the source said.

In the first half of 2016, the Iraqi security forces and the paramilitary Hashd Shaabi units, backed by anti-IS international coalition had reclaimed large parts of the Sunni heartland of Anbar province, including the provincial capital of Ramadi and Fallujah.

However, areas near the border line with Syria and desert areas near the freed towns and villages are not yet cleared from IS militants, who frequently used them to carry out attacks.

The IS attack came as the Iraqi security forces backed by anti-IS international coalition are carrying out a major offensive to drive out the IS militants from their major stronghold in the western side of Mosul in northern Iraq. Endit