Suicide bomber kills two Iraqi generals in Anbar

The bomber killed major general and a staff brigadier, says military spokesman

BAGHDAD:

A suicide bomber in an explosives-rigged vehicle killed two Iraqi army generals north of the Anbar provincial capital Ramadi on Thursday, a military spokesman said.

The bomber killed the deputy head of the Anbar Operations Command, Staff Major General Abdulrahman Abu Raghif, and 10th Division commander Staff Brigadier General Safin Abdulmajid, spokesman Brigadier General Yahya Rasool told AFP.

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A statement from the Joint Operations Command confirmed the deaths of the two officers along with an unspecified number of other "heroic martyrs".

Members of the Popular Mobilisation units gather around a vehicle during a military operation against Islamic State (IS) group north of Fallujah, in Iraq's Anbar province, on August 19, 2015. PHOTO: AFP

Rasool said the attack took place in the Al-Jaraishi area north of Ramadi, a city the Islamic State jihadist group seized in May after pro-government forces had held out against militants for more than a year.

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IS launched a devastating offensive in June 2014 that overran around a third of the country, sweeping security forces aside.

Baghdad's forces have managed to regain significant territory in two provinces north of Baghdad, but much of western Iraq, including Anbar province, remains outside government control.