Seven killed in Iraq attacks

At least seven people were killed and 21 others injured on Tuesday in a suicide attack near the Iraqi capital Baghdad and during clashes with Islamic State militants in Anbar province.

A suicide bomber detonated his explosive vest at an army checkpoint in Tarmiyah area, some 40 km north of Baghdad, killing two soldiers and injuring nine others including five civilians, an interior ministry source told Xinhua news agency.

In Anbar province, the clash erupted when dozens of IS militants attacked police positions outside the town of Khaldiyah, leaving at least five policemen dead and 12 others wounded.

The attack came as Iraqi security forces and allied Hashd Shaabi paramilitary militias have been fighting for months to recapture key cities and towns in Anbar, parts of which have been seized by the IS.