Iraqi fighters pose next to the bodies of Islamic State militants killed in battle for control of major dam

Militants died during attack on an Iraqi military post near Haditha Dam

Ambush by Islamic State wounded Iraqi governor and senior colleague

One Iraqi pictured flashing victory signs with one foot on dead militant

Comes after U.S. airstrikes helped Iraqi forces clear area of ISIS fighters



Iraqi security forces and Sunni tribesmen have been pictured lording it over the bodies of Islamic State militants after killing them in a firefight.

The jihadists died after launching an attack on a military post which wounded an Iraqi governor and a senior colleague.

One image shows a smug Iraqi flashing victory signs while putting his foot on the chest of a dead extremist.

In others, Iraqi troops are seen smiling as they gather around the corpses.

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Jubilant: Iraqi security forces and Sunni tribesmen pose next to the body of an Islamic State fighter after an attack at a military post near Haditha Dam

Smug: Iraqi security forces and Sunni tribesmen gather around the body of an Islamic State fighter after repelling an attack on a military post during battles for control of Haditha Dam

Lording it over: The Islamic State force trying to capture the dam was wiped out with the help of U.S. air strikes that widened what Barack Obama called a campaign to ultimately defeat the jihadist movement

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It came after an attack by ISIS on a military post during the visit of Ahmed al-Dulaimi, the governor of Iraq's Anbar province, amid running gun battles for control of the Haditha Dam.

Dulaimi was injured during the attack, which also wounded Abdulhakim al-Jughaifi, the administrative official responsible for Haditha, and seven soldiers, shortly after the town of Barwanah was retaken from militants.

A suicide bomber then struck the convoy carrying Dulaimi toward Haditha for treatment, killing one soldier and wounding six others.

Governor Ahmed al-Dulaimi later tweeted that he was not seriously hurt.

The IS force trying to capture the dam was wiped out with the help of U.S. air strikes that widened what Barack Obama called a campaign to ultimately defeat the jihadist movement.

Targeted: Iraqi forces stand next to Ahmed al-Dulaimi (centre), the governor of Iraq's Anbar province, laying on the ground after he was injured during an attack at the military post Victim: Ahmed al-Dulaimi (3rd right), the governor of Iraq's Anbar province, Iraqi security forces and Sunni, arrives at the military post before it was attacked ISIS 'USING US ANTI-TANK WEAPONS SEIZED FROM SYRIAN REBELS'

Islamic State fighters appear to be using captured U.S. military-issue arms and weapons supplied to moderate rebels in Syria by Saudi Arabia, according to a report published today. The study by the London-based small-arms research organisation Conflict Armament Research documented weapons seized by Kurdish forces from militants in Iraq and Syria over a 10-day period in July. The report said the jihadists disposed of 'significant quantities' of U.S.-made small arms including M16 assault rifles and included photos showing the markings 'Property of US Govt'. It also found that anti-tank rockets used by IS in Syria were 'identical to M79 rockets transferred by Saudi Arabia to forces operating under the Free Syrian Army umbrella in 2013'. The rockets were made in the then Yugoslavia in the 1980s. Islamic State is believed to have seized large quantities of weapons from Syrian military installations it has captured as well as arms supplied by the United States to the Iraqi army after it swept through northern Iraq in recent weeks. The militants could have opened or damaged the dam, flooding wide areas as far as Baghdad's international airport, where hundreds of US personnel are stationed, national security council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said. US defence secretary Chuck Hagel, travelling in Georgia, said the Iraqi government had asked the U.S. to launch the airstrikes. The six-month-old battle for control of the Haditha Dam has been a rare case of co-operation between local Sunni tribes and the Shi'ite-led Iraqi military.

The Juhayfa tribe in Haditha has a long-standing fight with the Islamic State, which split with its parent organization Al Qaeda last year. Anbar is complicated terrain for the Americans as they seek to root out Islamic State, since Sunnis fighting on behalf of the Baghdad government are the exception to the rule. The large desert province, bordering Syria, Jordan and Saudi Arabia, has been at war with Baghdad since last December when then-Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki sent troops to raze an anti-government demonstrators' camp. That sparked a tribal revolt against Maliki whom Sunnis accused of isolating them with indiscriminate arrests.

Islamic State fighters took advantage of the chaos to muscle in and become the dominant force among Sunnis. The fighting there, which has displaced 430,000 people since January, strengthened the Islamic State ahead of its lightning blitz this summer across the north of Iraq, also threatening the semi-autonomous, Western-backed enclave of Kurdistan.

Injured in battle: A member of Iraqi security forces, backed by Sunni tribesmen, gives assistance to comrades who were wounded during the attack

Location: U.S. warplanes have launched five air strikes on Islamic State militants trying to capture Haditha Dam

Meanwhile, the head of the Arab League has urged its members to confront Islamic State extremists 'militarily and politically'.

The apparent call to arms came as President Barack Obama prepares to go to politicians and the American public with his own plan to stop the militants.

Backing from the 22-country Arab League could provide crucial support across the Middle East for Mr Obama's effort to assemble an international coalition against IS, the marauding group that has conquered large parts of Iraq and Syria and committed beheadings and mass killings to sow terror.

Nato forces have already agreed to take on the extremists.

Arab League chief Nabil Elaraby said what is needed from Arab countries is a 'clear and firm decision for a comprehensive confrontation' with 'cancerous and terrorist' groups.

The Arab League includes Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Lebanon, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

Mr Obama will meet congressional leaders tomorrow and then outline his plan to the war-weary American public on Wednesday, the eve of the 13th anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terror attacks.