At least 23 Iraqi soldiers and government-allied militiamen are killed in an attack by Islamic State militants in the turbulent Anbar province west of Baghdad, Iraqi military and police officials say. Its capture enabled the Islamist extremists to seize large swathes of territories in northwestern Iraq. IS fighters reportedly used truck bombs to initiate the attack and more than a dozen roadside bombs to ambush a relief convoy.
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The group controls most of the area, including the provincial capital, Ramadi, and Fallujah.
In April, Iraqi army troops, bolstered by Shia militias known as Hashd al-Shaabi and U.S-led coalition air power, were able to wrest control of Tikrit, in Salahuddin province to the north, from IS forces. During a meeting with the soldiers there, he told them to use caution and precision when trying to take back areas so they don’t suffer big losses.
Later, a statement posted on the ministry’s official website said al-Obeidi on Saturday also fired the commander of a brigade deployed in Anbar as part of the 10th Mechanized Infantry Division. His name was not revealed but he was let go because he failed to carry out his duties. It has been rocked by violence since the beginning of 2014, months before the Islamic State jihadist group launched a massive nationwide offensive that saw it conquer swathes of the country. The minister said there is no place for those who don’t carry out their missions and commands. One of them, Nikolai Statkevich, was still in prison, serving a six-year sentence for what the court said was plotting riots.
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In Baghdad today, bombings left at least eight people dead and over 20 injured.
