Iraq says kills 57 Islamist militants in Sunni province

Iraqi soldiers take positions during an intensive security deployment on the outskirts of Anbar province, February 2, 2014. REUTERS/Stringer

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi troops and allied tribesmen killed 57 Islamist militants in Anbar province on Monday, the Defence Ministry said, in advance of a possible assault on the Sunni rebel-held city of Falluja.

There was no independent verification of the toll among the militants, said to be members of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), a jihadi group also fighting in Syria.