Two Iraqi generals die in a suicide attack claimed by the Islamic State group in the key battleground province of Anbar, as the jihadists make gains in northern Syria. The information was confirmed by another brigadier in the Iraqi Ministry of Defense who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
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The city was captured by Islamic State (IS) fighters in May – one of a series of embarrassing defeats inflicted upon Iraqi forces over the past year – and thousands of civilians fled.
The Turkish Dogan news agency also reported renewed fighting between IS and rebels across the border from Kilis and said the U.S.-led coalition bombed IS targets in the region.
A military statement read on Iraqi state television identified the two generals as Maj.
Brigadier Abderahman Muqtada Abu al-Ris, deputy Anbar Commander and Brigadier Safin Abdelmajid, commander of the 10th division, were killed in the attack on Thursday, along with three others.
Our correspondent says that the deaths of the two senior army commanders have caused a stir in Baghdad – where numerous political figures paid tribute to them – and will do nothing to improve the morale of state forces as they try to dislodge IS from Ramadi.
Although Daesh lost several parts of Iraq’s Diyala, Nineveh and Saladin provinces, it remains in control of most of Anbar, including the city of Ramadi.
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Speaking on state television, military spokesman Brig. Government forces retook Beiji late a year ago from the IS, but the militants are on the offensive there again and now control about half of the town and the refinery, located to the north.
