At least 43 people were killed on Wednesday in clashes with Islamic State (ISIS) militants and airstrikes by Iraqi and US-led coalition aircraft in Iraq’s western Anbar province, a government statement and a provincial security source said.
The security forces and allied militias known as Hashd Shaabi (Popular Mobilisation) carried out an offensive against the positions of IS militants in areas northwest of Iraq’s capital Baghdad and near the IS-held town of Garma, some 40 km west of Baghdad, said a statement issued by the Baghdad Operations Command (BOC).
The troops clashed with IS militants and killed at least 17 militants besides destroying some of their positions and a vehicle carrying rockets, the statement said.
Meanwhile, international warplanes carried out an airstrike on a four-wheel drive vehicle in Albu Diyab area west of the militant-seized provincial capital city of Ramadi, some 110 km west of Baghdad, destroying the vehicle and killing five IS militants aboard, a provincial security source told Xinhua news agency.