TIKRIT, Iraq, June 20 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi security forces killed on Tuesday 12 suicide bombers before they carry out deadly attacks in Iraq's northern central province of Salahudin, the provincial governor said.
Based on intelligence reports, the troops ambushed the 12 suspected suicide bombers near the al-Salam village, just west of the oil refinery town of Baiji, which located some 200 km north of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, Salahudin's governor Ahmed Abdullah al-Jubouri said in a press release.
The troops fought heavy clash with the would-be suicide bombers and killed them all, Jubouri said.
Jubouri demanded further military support from Baghdad central government to enable the provincial security forces to repel the increasing attacks of the extremist Islamic State (IS) militants on the provincial cities and villages.
Salahudin's authorities frequently warned that IS militants are attacking the urban areas of the province using the sprawling rugged area that extends from the western part of Salahudin province to the desert in the neighboring Anbar province, and similarly, the area extends from the eastern part of the province to the IS redoubt in Mteibijah on the provincial border with Diyala province, as well.
The incident came as Iraqi security forces, backed by the anti-IS international coalition, were simultaneously conducting a major offensive to dislodge IS militants from their major stronghold in western Mosul in northern Iraq.
