143 killed in clashes against IS in Iraq

A total of 143 people were killed Sunday in the ongoing clashes between the Iraqi security forces and militants, including of the the Islamic State (IS), security sources said.

In Anbar province, Iraqi security forces backed by allied tribesmen and warplanes in the morning repelled attacks by militants, including IS militant group, an Al Qaeda offshoot , on the town of Ameriyat al-Fallujah, some 40 km from Baghdad, Xinhua quoted a provincial security source as saying.

The extremist militants carried out the attacks on the town from two directions in the early hours of the day, the source said, adding that the battles left at least 16 IS militants and six security members killed.

Separately, at least 11 IS militants were killed and one of their vehicles carrying heavy machine gun was destroyed in air strikes believed to be carried out by US and French warplanes on the militants positions in and near the town of Garma, east of Fallujah, some 50 km west of Baghdad, the source said.

Also in the province, the security forces backed by allied tribesmen and warplanes carried out an offensive against the positions of IS militants and cleared four villages in Ramadi, some 110 km from Baghdad, leaving 18 IS militants killed, including two foreign militants, the source added.

Meanwhile, Major General Ahmed Saddag al-Dulaimi, the provincial police chief, told reporters that the security forces and allied tribesmen killed 82 IS militants in separate clashes in south and north of Ramadi during the day.

In Diyala province, battles continued between the security forces backed by Shiite militias and the IS militants near al-Sudour Dam, some 110 km from Baghdad, leaving at least six militants killed while a policeman and a Shiite militiaman from Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq were killed and two soldiers wounded, a source said.