BAGHDAD — A roadside bomb killed the police chief of Iraq’s battleground province of Anbar on Sunday, officials said, after the Pentagon expressed concern about a renewed offensive by militants in the area.



The attack came near the provincial capital of Ramadi, one of the few areas between Baghdad and the Syrian border not controlled by fighters loyal to the self-proclaimed Islamic State group, provincial and police officials said.



“Major General Ahmed Saddag was killed by an IED (improvised explosive device) blast targeting his convoy this morning,” Faleh Al-Issawi, the deputy head of the provincial council, said.



“The blast hit the convoy as it was passing through the Abu Risha district,” just northwest of Ramadi, he said.



A senior police official in the province confirmed Saddag’s death and said four other policemen were also wounded in the attack.



“The police chief was leading forces involved in an operation to retake Twei” from IS, Colonel Abdulrahman Al-Janabi said.



He said clashes between government forces and the militants had erupted in the area on Saturday evening. — AFP