Unrest costs Iraq's Anbar $20 billion

World Bulletin / News Desk

Iraqi authorities have estimated the losses in the violence-ravaged Anbar province in western Iraq at $20 billion.

"The damage caused by attacks by the rebel Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) in the province is estimated no less than $20 billion," provincial council chief Sabah Karhout told Anadolu Agency.

"It will take five years at least to reconstruct the city," he said.

Anbar has been the site of a deadly showdown between ISIL, which the Iraqi government say is linked to Al-Qaeda, and Iraqi security forces for several months.

The movement destroyed around 25 bridges in Anbar in an attempt to disconnect some cities and paralyze army operations inside it, a security source said.

According to the source, ongoing battles in Anbar have brought major projects in the main cities of Ramadi and Fallujah to a halt.