Three attackers and as many as 14 others were killed on Monday when Iraqi troops recaptured a government compound and police station in Anbar province, about 120 miles west of Baghdad.
The attack began in Baghdadi when two bombers detonated an explosive device outside a government compound, while others attackers stormed the compound disguised in uniforms, taking approximately 20 people hostages.
Simultaneously the town’s police station was also attacked, but the security forces there were able to defend the station by killing two of the attackers and arresting the third.
Anbar Provincial Governor Qassim Mohammed announced the end of the siege: "The operation is over. Iraqi special forces stormed the compound; all the attackers have been killed."
Mohammed said that in addition to the three attackers who were killed, four others, including a police chief were also killed. Other sources revealed that as many as 13 people were killed in the action and the attack.
It is believed that somewhere between three and seven bombers participated in the attack on the compound. The government building where the hostages were held, which was the headquarters for the provincial council, was partially destroyed in the siege and subsequent rescue.