BAGHDAD, March 20: Iraqi security forces killed 39 “terrorists” in a fierce battle in the western Sunni province of Al-Anbar on Tuesday, a top Iraqi official said.

Brigadier General Abdel Karim Khalaf, director of the operations centre in the interior ministry, said seven other militants were arrested, including some Arab nationals.

The clashes broke out early on Tuesday in Ameriyah, southwest of the former rebel town of Fallujah and the site of a recent chlorine gas attack.

Khalaf said security forces supported by paramilitary units formed by Sunni tribes fought the militants in a battle that lasted several hours. Two top militants, Shakir Hadi Jassim and Mohammed Khamis, were among the dead.

About 25 Sunni tribes from Anbar have formed a coalition to take on the militants.—AFP