Baghdad, Nov 21 (IANS/EFE) The Islamic State (IS) Sunni radical group launched a large-scale offensive Friday on the Iraqi city of Ramadi, the capital of strife-torn Anbar province, a security source told Efe news agency.
The source said the attack began early in the day at different points around the city as the jihadis infiltrated neighbourhoods near the city centre, attacking Army troops and Iraqi police as they advanced.
The attackers were driven off by security forces supported by local clans after the IS fighters shelled government and security institutions in the city centre with mortar fire and Katyusha rockets, the source added.
The extremists also went on the attack in the Sejaria area, eight miles northeast of Ramadi, al-Madij, 14 miles to the east, al-Sufiya and the cty's western gates. Around 33 militants, one army officer and four policemen have died so far in the fighting, the source said.
He added that the clashes were still ongoing, with Iraqi forces calling for reinforcements, weapons, and air support in order to drive out the attackers.
Last June, the IS proclaimed an Islamic caliphate in the vast territories that have fallen under its control in Syria and Iraq.
--IANS/EFE
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