BAGHDAD (AP) – An Islamic State suicide bomber killed two Iraqi army generals on Thursday as they led forces against IS positions in the turbulent Anbar province west of Baghdad, military officials said.
They said the bomber drove his explosives-laden vehicle into the advancing troops north of Anbar’s provincial capital, Ramadi, killing the two generals and three soldiers. A military spokesman said on state television that 10 other soldiers were wounded. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
The IS group captured Ramadi in May and also controls the nearby city of Fallujah.
A military statement read on Iraqi state television identified the two generals as Maj. Gen. Abdul-Rahman Abu-Regheef, deputy chief of operations in Anbar, and Brig. Gen. Sefeen Abdul-Maguid, commander of the 10th Army Division. The two were later given a military funeral at the Defense Ministry in Baghdad with Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and Defense Minister Khaled al-Obeidi leading mourners.
An IS statement posted on Twitter accounts run by supporters claimed responsibility for the attack, but gave a different account, saying six fighters in four explosives-laden vehicles and armed with two heavy machine-guns carried out the attack.