Members of the Iraqi armed forces during a military operation west of Baghdad on February 25, 2016. (Photo by Nawras Aamer/EPA)
Islamic State (IS) suicide bombers and gunmen attacked Iraqi army and police posts on the western outskirts of Baghdad on Sunday, killing at least 12 people and seizing positions in a grain silo and a cemetery, officials said.The largest assault near the capital in months was still raging on Sunday morning. The IS-linked Aamaq news agency said the group had launched a "wide attack" in the Abu Ghraib area, which is just west of the Iraqi capital.Suicide bombers in vehicles and on foot attacked government positions 15 miles from the center of Baghdad and next to the international airport, government officials said.Dozens of militants driving Humvees and pickup trucks fixed with machine guns attacked from the nearby IS-controlled areas of Garma and Fallujah, army and police sources added.Aamaq news agency said Iraqi forces were been forced to retreat from several locations. But the Iraqi security sources said the militants had been forced out of a police station and several army positions and had dug in at the cemetery and the silo, part of which was set on fire.Related: The Islamic State Tried to Seize a Town Right After the Ceasefire Took Effect in SyriaA military statement said at least four suicide attackers were killed around the silo, with another 20 militants holed up inside.Meanwhile, the death toll from two suicide blasts on Sunday in Baghdad's mainly Shiite district of Sadr City rose to 24 with more than 60 others wounded, police and medical sources said.Two police sources said the assailants were suicide bombers riding motorcycles through a crowded mobile phone market. They said police had sealed off the area to prevent further attacks.There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blasts.Follow VICE News on Twitter: @vicenews
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