Iraqis Launch Offensive Against Islamic State Near Anbar Military Base

Iraqi security forces and Sunni tribal fighters launched an offensive to dislodge Islamic State militants near the western outpost of Haditha in a bid to secure a key supply route to an important military base, police and tribal sources said.
Haditha and its nearby dam are in one of the few parts of the Sunni Muslim province of Anbar still under the control of Iraq's Shi'ite-led government forces, which were driven out of the provincial capital Ramadi in May.The offensive started with army and police forces backed by Sunni tribal fighters attacking the Albu Hayat area, 20 km (12 miles) southeast of Haditha. Militants have used the area to strike the supply route to the Ain al-Asad military base where U.S. Marines are training Iraqi troops.