BAGHDAD, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- An Iraqi border guard officer was killed and three others wounded in an overnight attack by the extremist Islamic State (IS) militants near the Iraqi-Syrian border in western Iraq, the Iraqi military said on Tuesday.
The attack took place after midnight when IS militants crossed the border line with Syria and attacked a border guard outpost in north of al-Walid border crossing point, sparking a several-hour clash, an army source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.
A reinforcement force dispatched to the scene and forced the attackers to withdraw, the source said without giving further details.
Late in 2017, Iraq declared full liberation of its territories from IS militants after Iraqi forces seized the whole border areas with Syria and nearby desert in western Iraq.
However, small groups or individuals of IS militants still try to infiltrate into Iraq from neighboring Syria through the roughly 600 km long border with Iraq with vast rugged areas and desert land.
