Army, tribes foil Islamic State attack west of Anbar
Iraqi army in Anbar
Hamad al-Karbouli, a regiment commander at Anbar’s tribal mobilization forces, said army and tribal forces foiled the attack which targeted the Kabisa area, west of Ramadi.
Encounters between the forces and militants lasted for more than one hour but attackers eventually fled to desert areas, according to Karbouli.
“Kabisa is now in security and tribal forces’ grip,” he stated.
Islamic State militants have been holding a few towns in Anbar close the borders with Syria since the group emerged to the scene in Iraq in 2014 to proclaim the establishment of a self-styled “Islamic Caliphate” across many regions of the country. Since then, it had launched occasional attacks on civilians and security in Anbar from those strongholds, with security forces, backed by fighter jets from a US-led military coalition, responding with recurrent airstrikes.
Last week, the Iraqi army command in Anbar announced a first security campaign backed by tribal militias to liberate the IS-held regions of the province.