Fierce clashes in Iraq as IS seizes villages near Ramadi
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BAGHDAD - The Islamic State group launched an offensive in Iraq's western Anbar province on Wednesday, capturing three villages near the provincial capital of Ramadi, where fierce clashes were underway between the extremists and government troops, residents said.
The dawn push by IS seized the villages of Sjariyah, Albu-Ghanim and Soufiya, which had been under government control, the residents said, adding that the fighting was taking place on the eastern edges of Ramadi, about two kilometers (mile) away from local government building.
In Soufiya, the militants bombed a police station and took over a power plant. The residents, who spoke on condition of anonymity fearing for their own safety, said airstrikes were trying to back up Iraqi troops.
