ISIS car bomb hits security post in Iraq’s Anbar

A suicide car bomb - claimed by ISIS - targeting a border security post in the western province of Anbar has killed six and wounded 14 guards on Saturday officials said, adding that the commander of the base is among the dead.

The bomber, driving an explosives-laden car, rammed the vehicle into a checkpoint outside the headquarters of border security in the town of al-Nukhayb, 100 kilometers (62 miles) from the border with Saudi Arabia.

An army lieutenant colonel said the bomber was dressed in a military uniform with captain’s insignia and was driving an explosives-rigged military vehicle.

Hussein al-Goli, a lieutenant colonel in the border guards, was among the dead, the army officer said.

Imad Ahmed, a local official responsible for the Rutba area in Anbar, confirmed the toll.

Meanwhile, ISIS issued a statement claiming the attack, which it said was carried out by a bomber identified as Abu Ali al-Ansari.

The statement was accompanied by photos, some of which were apparently shot from a drone.

The attack also follows significant gains by Iraqi government forces in Anbar.

Earlier this week the Iraqi military regained key territory around the militant-held city of Ramadi, the provincial capital.

ISIS has overrun significant territory in Anbar province, which stretches from the borders with Syria, Jordan and Saudi Arabia to the western approach to Baghdad, including provincial capital Ramadi.

(With AP, AFP)