Iraqi forces, backed by U.S.-led coalition airstrikes, battled Islamic State militants for a third day on Tuesday in a remote western town, hundreds of kilometers (miles) to the south of the operation to retake Mosul, U.S. and Iraqi officials said.

The clashes underway in Rutba, in Iraq's western Anbar province, are apparently part of the extremist group's tactics to divert attention — as well as Iraqi and coalition resources — from the battle to retake Mosul from Islamic State militants.

The U.S. is also providing ground support for the Mosul operation, with more than 100 American soldiers embedded with Iraqi units and hundreds more working in staging bases. A U.S. soldier was killed by a roadside bomb last week.

Read more: ABC News