At least 17 Iraqi soldiers were killed in an attack by militants of the Islamic State (IS/ISIS) in Anbar province west of Baghdad, military officials said on Sunday.
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The Islamic State group controls much of the vast Anbar province, including Ramadi and the city of Fallujah.
Sabah al-Karhout, president of the Anbar Provincial Council, told the Associated Press the ambushes took place Friday west of the provincial capital, Ramadi, but said he had no more details. Iraqi troops backed by local tribal fighters and Shiite militias been trying to recapture the city since then. The two have been facing pressure from the group in the oil refinery town of Beiji, which was taken back from the group previous year .
The chief of army operations in Anbar, Maj-Gen.
Colonel Kareem al-Zaidi said that Morandi had not been attacked because he was a foreigner in Iraqi and that motive was likely to be robbery.
Defense Minister Khalid al-Obeidi on Saturday toured the army’s command in Anbar.
The Iraqi defence minister was touring in the Anbar region, shortly after the deadly twin ISIS ambushes left 50 soldiers dead. His name was not revealed but he was let go because he failed to carry out his duties.
The dismissal was confirmed in an official statement: ‘There is no place for those who neglect to carry out their missions and duties.
The Sunni extremists, who have imposed a violent interpretation of Islamic law across their self-declared “caliphate” in territory they control in Syria and Iraq, claim ancient relics promote idolatry and say they are destroying them as part of their purge of paganism.
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The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to journalists.
