(VOVworld) - At least 23 Iraqi soldiers and militia have been killed in an attack by Islamic State militants in Anbar province, according to police and military officials.

Anbar province has been the scene of heavy casualties due to the struggle against Islamic State (Photo: Reuters)

The dead include 17 soldiers and six militia fighters who were working with troops to push back against the militant group. Sunday's attack in the rural district of Jaramshah, north of the Anbar provincial capital of Ramadi, follows two IS ambushes in Anbar on Friday that left at least 50 Iraqi soldiers dead. Anbar province stretches from the western outskirts of the capital Baghdad to the borders of Syria, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. The Iraqi troops and allied Sunni and Shiite militiamen have exchanged fire with IS for several years.