BAGHDAD, April 9 (Xinhua) -- At least two security forces members were killed and seven others injured Monday in a clash with four suicide bombers from the extremist Islamic State (IS) group in the western Iraqi province of Anbar, a local security source said.

The attack occurred before dawn when the security forces and allied paramilitary Hashd Shaabi groups fought with the suicide bombers at the al-Askari neighborhood in the town of Haditha, some 200 km northwest of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, leaving three IS militants killed, Abdul-Rahman al-Hadithi, a local Hashd Shaabi leader, told Xinhua by telephone.

At that time, a fourth suicide bomber reached a security force and blew up his explosive vest, killing two security members and wounding seven others, Hadithi said.

"The security forces in the town foiled the attack of the terrorist Daesh gangs (IS militants), with the help of a large number of local residents who took up their arms to support the troops," Hadithi added.

The attack is the second of its kind during the past two days, after a suicide bomber detonated his explosive vest late on Saturday night at a gathering outside the office of al-Hal political party in the town of Heet, some 160 km west of Baghdad.

The bombing killed two security members and injured nine people, including a female candidate for the upcoming parliamentary elections.

In December 2017, Iraq declared full liberation of its land after the Iraqi security forces and the paramilitary Hashd Shaabi units, backed by anti-IS international coalition, recaptured all the areas once seized by the extremist group.

However, small groups and individuals of IS militants melted in urban areas or resorted to deserts and rugged areas looking for safe havens. They are still capable of carrying out attacks from time to time against the security forces and civilians.