At least 22 Iraqi soldiers have been killed and seven more are missing after an attack by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) fighters near the strategic city of Ramadi, military sources said.
The attack took place overnight on the headquarters of the 3rd rapid deployment force and other military barracks in the villages of Qutainiyah and Zuwaiyah, near Zankurah town, the sources told Al Jazeera on Monday morning.
At least 16 security personnel were injured in the attack.
Iraqi forces declared victory over ISIL in Ramadi in late December and have since cleared most of the western city.
Since being pushed from the centre of Ramadi, ISIL has launched near-daily attacks on Iraqi forces, especially on its outskirts.
Ramadi, the Anbar provincial capital where around half a million people once lived, was lost to ISIL in May 2015.
The US-led coalition carried out more than 600 air strikes in the area from July to December last year.