Updated

Officials in Iraq say suicide attacks against security forces in a restive western city have killed at least eight security personnel.

A police officer says two suicide bombers rammed their explosives-laden cars into security checkpoints leading to the military operation command in the city of Ramadi on Wednesday, killing five soldiers and three police officers. He says 14 people were wounded in that attack.

A medical official confirmed causality figures. Both spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information.

In December, al-Qaida-inspired militants took control of parts of Ramadi, the provincial capital of Sunni-dominated Anbar province, and the downtown of nearby Fallujah. Since then, Iraqi government security forces and allied Sunni tribal militia have been struggling to dislodge the militants.