Dozens dead in Iraqi airstrikes on Ramadi and Fallujah

 76 People were killed Sunday when Iraqi air force warplanes and helicopters attacked residential areas of the western cities of Fallujah and Ramadi.  

“The air force carried out air raids using fighter jets and helicopters carrying barrel bombs on several neighbourhoods in Fallujah on Sunday killing 29 civilians, including three entire families and injuring at 41 others," a spokesperson for the public health authorities in the city told al-Araby al-Jadeed. 

Also on Sunday, 47 civilians including many teenagers were killed when a fighterjet targeted a local stadium in Ramadi where youngsters had gathered to play traditional Ramadan games.  

Also on Sunday, the Defensce Ministry said government forces repelled an IS attack on a town and a vital dam in Anbar province after IS fighters launched an offensive on the town of Haditha and the nearby Haditha dam Sunday morning. 

At least 20 militants were killed in the failed attack, said the statement, which did not provide any further information. 

Iraqi forces, backed by Shia militias, have been struggling to recapture areas lost to the IS group in the country's west and north.

In May, the militant group scored a stunning victory, overrunning Ramadi, the provincial capital of western Anbar province. Yet, Haditha and some other towns remain under control of government forces and allied Sunni tribal fighters.