Ongoing Iraq Clashes Kill 64 Security Forces, Shiite Militiamen

Clashes with Sunni Muslim militants have killed 34 Iraqi security forces members in Al-Qaim, a town on the Syrian border, officials said Friday.

The fighting broke out late Thursday night and continued until around noon Friday, with militants in control of most of the town, security forces officers and a local official said.

The identity of the militants was not immediately clear.

But the official, Farhan Farhan, appealed to the government for arms "stronger than the weapons that ISIL has," a reference to the jihadist Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

Witnesses said families had begun to flee Al-Qaim.

Militants said to be loyal to Syrian rebel groups took control of the nearby Al-Qaim border crossing on Tuesday, the second crossing the government has lost since June 9.

Later in the day, militants attacked the town of Muqdadiyah northeast of Baghdad, sparking clashes that killed 30 Shiite militiamen, a police colonel and a doctor said.

The fighting began on Friday morning and eased later in the day with security forces still in control of Muqdadiyah, a key approach to Diyala provincial capital Baquba, and militants deployed in adjoining areas.

Shiite militiamen have joined Iraqi security forces in fighting against a major offensive by Sunni Arab militants that overran all of one province and chunks of three more in a matter of days.

Security forces performed poorly during the initial days of the assault, in some cases shedding uniforms and abandoning vehicles in their haste to flee.

While they seem to have recovered somewhat from the shock of the onslaught, retaking ground in certain areas, the militants have made gains elsewhere.

Iraq is struggling to contain a major ISIL-led offensive that overran all of one province and large parts of three more in a matter of days last week.