Iraq’s Defense Ministry in a Monday statement confirming the report added that Iraq’s army and local police were backed by tribesmen in the fighting.

The bodies of the killed were taken to a morgue, the statement said.

Elsewhere, a top security source said that Iraqi snipers had gunned down a senior member of the ISIL in the center of Ramadi.

Anbar has been the scene of violence over the past few months. The unrest escalated on December 30, 2013, when the Iraqi army removed a camp in the city of Ramadi.

After the fighting spread to Fallujah, and militants moved in and seized the city and parts of Ramadi.

Tribe members have been helping Iraqi troops in their fight against the al-Qaeda militants.

RA/NJF