Islamic State militants killed at least 16 Iraqi border guards in a dawn assault Monday on a remote outpost near the Syrian frontier.
At least four other guards were wounded in the attack on their headquarters at al-Walid, in the westernmost part of Anbar province. It was not immediately clear how many Islamic State fighters were killed or wounded.
Despite the attack, Iraqi officials said government troops still control al-Walid, about 500 kilometers west of the capital, Baghdad, and near the point where the borders of Iraq, Syria and Jordan meet.
Islamic State insurgents have controlled parts of Anbar since early 2014, months before the militants launched an offensive in June in which they have captured about a third of both Iraq and Syria. Iraqi government troops, supported by U.S.-led airstrikes and fighters on the ground, have retaken some land in recent weeks.
The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq says that more than 1,200 Iraqis were killed and more than 2,400 wounded in violence and terror attacks in November. Nearly 300 of those killed were members of Iraqi and Kurdish forces, along with militiamen who fight alongside them.
Some material for this report came from AP, AFP and Reuters.
