Iraq’s military needs more intelligence and action from international allies against Islamic State (IS) extremists, the prime minister has said.

A military operation has been launched to drive Islamic State out of the western Anbar province of Iraq, where the extremists captured the provincial capital Ramadi earlier this month.

At least 11 people were killed and 72 others injured in explosions at residential buildings across Baghdad today, an Iraq military official said.

Iraqi forces clashed with Shiite militias in the southern oil port of Basra today as a security plan to clamp down on violence between rival militia factions in the region began.