Civilian deaths reported in Iraqi army shelling
Medical sources say at least five killed in and around Fallujah while an ISIL suicide attack kills at least 13 soldiers.
At least five civilians including a child have died following Iraqi army shelling on residential areas in and around the city of Fallujah, medical sources say.
The deaths on Monday came amid continued government efforts to wrest the city and the rest of Anbar province from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group.
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Iraqi artillery targeted the southern Nuaimiya district as well as the Risala and Andalus areas in central Fallujah, the sources said.
In a separate incident, an ISIL suicide car bombing targeted at an Iraqi military position killed at least 13 soldiers north of Fallujah.
Military sources said the position was being manned by regular soldiers and members of the Popular Mobilisation forces, a coalition of mainly Shia units formed in response to ISIL’s offensive in mid-2014.
Iraqi forces are backed in their offensive by an international coalition, which includes the US and allied Western states, as well as its neighbour Iran.
Fallujah and much of Anbar, including its capital Ramadi, are made up mostly of Sunni Arabs.
ISIL has played on grievances towards the Shia-dominated government in Baghdad to secure its grip on the region.
