At least 16 Iraqi border guards were killed by Islamic State (IS) militants in an early morning attack near the Syrian border.
Falih al-Issawi, the deputy head of the Anbar's provincial council, said the incident occurred in Al-Walid and that four other guards were wounded.
But he said the Al-Walid crossing -- which is some 500 kilometers from Baghdad -- was not taken by the IS fighters during the attack.
Several parts of Anbar Province have been controlled by IS forces since January when Fallujah and Ramadi were attacked.
A second offensive by IS militants in June took large parts of northern Iraq, including Mosul, Iraqi's second-largest city.
But Iraqi government troops and Kurdish Peshmerga forces aided by U.S.-led air strikes have retaken several key towns and areas from IS militants.
Meanwhile, Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi sacked 24 Interior Ministry officials as part of a restructuring.
