17 killed as security forces, IS militants clash in Iraq

At least 17 people were killed and 23 wounded in clashes between security forces and Islamic State (IS) militants in the Iraqi provinces of Salahudin and Anbar, according to security sources.

In the Salahudin province, heavy clashes erupted on Wednesday morning between IS militants and security forces backed by allied Shia and Sunni militias in al-Mazraa area, south of the oil refinery town of Baiji, which is about 200 km from Iraq's capital Baghdad, Xinhua reported citing a provincial security source.

Seven IS militants and one militiaman died in the fighting, while 14 militiamen were wounded,the source said.

The clashes came as battles to free the city of Tikrit -- the capital of the Salahudin province -- from the IS have been stalled for about two weeks as the militants planted thousands of bombs and booby-trapped dozens of buildings and cars.

Since March 2, about 30,000 Iraqi troops and thousands of allied Shia and Sunni militias have been involved in Iraq's biggest offensive to recapture the northern part of Salahudin province, including Tikrit and other key towns and villages, from the IS.

In Iraq's largest province of Anbar, a suicide truck bomber and dozens of IS militants attacked an army base towards the east of the militant-held town of Garma, sparking fierce clashes with soldiers, who managed to repel the IS attack.

The clashes left four soldiers dead and six wounded, a provincial security source told Xinhua.

The battles also left five IS militants dead and three wounded, the source added.

For months, Anbar province has been the scene of fierce clashes between IS militants and security forces, which have gained support from some of the local Sunni tribes that have rejected the presence of the IS.

The IS has seized parts of Anbar and tried to advance towards Baghdad, but several counterattacks by the security forces and Shia militias have pushed them back.

The security situation in Iraq has drastically deteriorated since June 10 last year, when bloody clashes broke out between Iraqi security forces and the IS.