BAGHDAD: The Islamic State group infiltrated a town in Iraq’s Anbar province with several fighters wearing suicide belts on Saturday, in a raid that killed at least five people, security officials said.

The jihadist attackers entered Amriyat al-Fallujah, a government-held town 50 kilometres southwest of Baghdad and a key base for any operation against the IS-controlled city of Fallujah, further north.

“Eight suicide bombers sneaked into the city, the security forces succeeded in repelling the attack by killing five of them,” Major General Ismail al-Mahalawi, who heads Anbar Operations Command, told AFP.

“The other three blew themselves up, which led to the killing of three civilians and two policemen,” he said. A leader of the tribal forces assisting federal forces in Anbar confirmed the death toll and said the situation had been brought back under control.