25 Iraqi fighters killed thwarting IS assault in Anbar

'We have given 25 martyrs in 72 hours,' says a tribal commander.

Baghdad

: At least 25 Iraqi fighters have been killed repelling a major three-day offensive by the Islamic State group in the region of Haditha in Anbar province, security sources said on Tuesday.

"We have given 25 martyrs in 72 hours," a tribal commander, Sheikh Abdallah Atallah, said by phone from Haditha, an area that includes a key dam and has held off IS since 2014.

"It was one of the biggest offensives we have seen. It came from three directions," he said, adding that dozens were also wounded.

The mayor of Haditha, located about 200 kilometres northwest of Baghdad, confirmed the casualty toll. "We have more than 20 martyrs and more than 50 wounded They are from the army, CTS (the counter-terrorism service), the police and the tribal fighters," Mabrouk Hamid said.