34 Iraqi soldiers slain on Syria border

RAMADI: Clashes with Sunni militants have killed 34 Iraqi security forces members in Al-Qaim, a town on the Syrian border, officials said Friday.
The fighting broke out late Thursday night and continued until around noon Friday, with militants in control of most of the town, security forces officers and a local official said. The identity of the militants was not immediately clear.
But the official, Farhan Farhan, appealed to the government for arms “stronger than the weapons that ISIL has,” a reference to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.
Witnesses said families had begun to flee Al-Qaim.