Attacks in Iraq kill at least 15; government forces slowed in advance on Ramadi

Reporting from Baghdad —  A wave of attacks across Iraq killed at least 15 civilians Wednesday, as government forces continued an offensive to dislodge Islamic State militants from a major city west of Baghdad, officials said.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attacks, though they bore the hallmarks of Islamic State, a Sunni Muslim militant group that has targeted Iraqi forces, civilians and especially Shiites.

In the Shiite-majority town of Khalis, about 50 miles north of the capital, two explosives-laden cars were detonated. The first car was parked in a bus station, and that explosion killed three and wounded 10, a police officer said.

The second car bomb exploded at the town’s outdoor grocery market, killing four civilians and wounding eight.

In and around Baghdad, five bombs went off in commercial areas, killing eight civilians and wounding 35, two police officers said. Three medical officials confirmed the casualty figures. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to release information.

The attacks came a day after Iraqi security forces reported progress in recapturing some areas in the western city of Ramadi, 80 miles west of Baghdad, from Islamic State extremists who control large areas in western and northern Iraq and in neighboring Syria. The group has declared a self-styled caliphate on the territory under its control.

On Wednesday, the Iraqi security forces’ advance was slowed by snipers, roadside bombs and booby-trapped buildings, said Brig. Gen. Yahya Rasool, a military spokesman. Rasool said some of the families that were trapped in Ramadi had managed to flee the city and reached safe areas.

In May, the government suffered a major blow when militants took over Ramadi, the capital of sprawling Anbar province and Iraq’s Sunni heartland.