ANBAR, Iraq
At least four Iraqi soldiers were killed and 15 others wounded Monday in ground operations led by the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) militants, according to Iraqi military officials.
In the city of Fallujah, Lieutenant General Rashid Felih said four Iraqi soldiers were killed and 15 others were wounded during the battle between the army troops and militants in the district of Saqlawiyah in Anbar province, near the city of Fallujah.
The death toll from the fighting is feared to rise and many injured soldiers are in critical condition, Felih said.
Separately, another unidentified captured Iraqi lieutenant colonel was executed by firing squad at Fallujah’s Meyselun Square by ISIL militants during the ongoing fighting between army troops and the militants.
In addition, the region’s tribes people alleged the armed militants also seized Iraqi military ammunition in the same region.
The Iraqi authorities did not release any further details on the apparent loss of equipment.
Iraq has suffered from escalating ethnic violence, which then morphed into a militant campaign since a coalition of armed groups linked to ISIL captured large swathes of the country's predominantly Sunni provinces in early June.
Violence instigated by ISIL militants has claimed more than 1,400 lives in August alone, and caused 1.2 million Iraqis, including Turkmen, Arabs, Christians and Ezidis, to flee their homes.
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