Islamic State militants launched attacks on two western towns in Iraq Thursday, killing at least 17 members of the Iraqi army and 40 militants, AFP reports.
IS extremists attacked the police headquarters in the town of Heet and carried out an assault on a major army base in Ramadi, according to AFP. Both are strategic towns, as some of the last pockets still under government control in the Sunni province of Anbar are in Heet and Ramadi.
Iraqi forces continue to battle IS militants for control of Iraq. In June, IS fighters seized large swathes of northwestern Iraq and claimed to establish an Islamic caliphate. Kurdish forces are also involved in the fierce clashes against the extremists and are being aided by U.S. and British air strikes.
