Islamic State fighters seize town near U.S. air base in Iraq

Islamic State jihadists have captured the western Iraqi town of Al-Baghdadi, putting them within striking distance of an air base where American troops are training Iraqi forces, the U.S. military said Friday. The fall of the town, which the Pentagon played down as a minor setback, came as IS extremists launched an unsuccessful assault involving suicide bombers on the nearby Al-Asad air base. The town is located in Anbar province, about eight kilometres from the Asad air base, where about 300 U.S. Marines are stationed to assist Iraqi government troops.

We do assess that right now they have control of Al-Baghdadi. [IS took hold of the town] in the past several days.

Rear Admiral John Kirby, the Pentagon spokesman

Iraqi soldiers repelled the IS group’s assault on the base on Friday which involved several suicide bombers, officials said. A group of 20 to 25 IS fighters, most of them wearing Iraqi army uniforms, carried out the failed attack, which appeared designed to have been an initial wave of suicide bombings followed by gunmen storming in, Kirby said. All of the militants were killed or died when detonating suicide bombs. Kirby said that “at no time were U.S. troops anywhere near the fighting,” which was about two miles away from where the Americans were working at the sprawling complex.

World