Bombing leaves six border guards dead on Iraq-Saudi frontier

A bomb attack has targeted an Iraqi border post on the frontier with Saudi Arabia, claiming the lives of six guards and leaving another 14 injured.

Officials said the casualties came after a bomber detonated an explosives-rigged vehicle at the headquarters of the Hafr Zawiyah border post in Iraq’s restive Western Anbar Province on Saturday.

An Iraqi army lieutenant colonel, whose name was not released in reports, said the bomber was dressed in a military uniform and was driving an explosives-laden military vehicle. The officer said Hussein al-Goli, a lieutenant colonel, was among those who lost their lives in the Saturday incident.

Imad Ahmed, an official responsible for Anbar’s Ar-Rutba district, also confirmed the death toll.

No group or individual has claimed responsibility for the bomb attack so far, but such assaults are usually blamed on the Takfiri Daesh terrorist group.

The northern and western parts of Iraq have been plagued by violence ever since Daesh elements began an offensive through the Iraqi territory in June 2014. Daesh militants have been accused of committing gross human rights violations and war crimes in areas they control, particularly in Iraq, Syria and Libya.

Iraqi army soldiers and Popular Mobilization Units have joined forces and are seeking to take back militant-held regions in joint operations.

Following significant advances on the Anbar provincial capital city of Ramadi – which is held by Daesh – over the past few days, Iraqi forces are currently preparing to push into the city center from the north and the southwest, latest reports say.