Islamic State militants killed at least 10 soldiers in the western Iraqi province of Anbar on Tuesday in their latest deadly attack on security forces in the area, officers said.
The latest attack near the remote outpost of Rutba brought the death toll of Iraqi security forces killed by the Islamic State group to at least 26 in the area in recent days.
“We had 10 soldiers killed and six wounded in an attack by Daesh early this morning,” an army lieutenant colonel told the AFP news agency, using an Arabic term for IS.
A police officer and a local official confirmed the attack and casualty toll.
The army officer said IS attacked a 1st Division base in the Saggar area, east of Rutba, using mortar rounds and rockets before fighters armed with rifles tried to storm it.
He said the ensuing clashes lasted two hours until 7am.