Two Senior Iraqi Commanders Killed In Ramadi Attack

Two senior Iraqi military commanders have been killed in a car bomb attack north of Ramadi, the capital of Anbar Province.

Iraqi officials said Deputy Commander of Anbar Operations Command Major General Abdel Rahman Abu Raghif and Brigadier Safin Abdel Majid, head of the 10th division, were killed along with three other people in the attack.

Pro-government forces are battling Islamic State (IS) militants in Anbar Province.

IS launched a powerful offensive in June 2014, capturing a large swath of territory.

Forces loyal to Baghdad have managed to regain control over a lot of territory north of Baghdad, but much of western Iraq, including Anbar Province, remains outside government control.

Ealsewhere, IS are reported to have seized new territory from Syrian rebels in northern Syria.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a U.K.-based group tracking the war, said it had seized five villages, including two near the Turkish border, from other Syrian insurgents.

Islamic State announced that it had captured three villages in the area and said its fighters had nearly encircled the rebel-held town of Marea, some 20 kilometers south of the Turkish border.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told the Reuters news agency on August 27 that the two NATO allies would soon launch "comprehensive" air operations to flush Islamic State fighters from the border region.

Based on reporting by Reuters and AFP