An "Islamic State of Iraq and Syria" (ISIS) attack on a lookout point west of Baghdad manned by a state-sponsored tribal force left 11 people dead late Sunday (November 8th), security sources and medics said.

The extremists threw grenades and fired on tribal forces operating under the auspices of the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) stationed at al-Radwaniyah, on the southern outskirts of the Iraqi capital, near the Baghdad airport.

"ISIS attacked the monitoring tower, killing five members of the tribal PMF and six local people who had come to help repel the attack," a security source said.

A medic confirmed the toll, and said eight wounded were transferred to a hospital in central Baghdad.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility from ISIS.

ISIS swept across a third of Iraq in 2014, seizing major cities across the north and west and reaching the suburbs of the capital Baghdad.

After a fierce three-year fight backed by the international coalition, Iraq declared ISIS defeated in late 2017.

But ISIS sleeper cells have continued to wage hit-and-run attacks on security forces and state infrastructure, particularly in desert areas where troops are stretched thin.

Attacks with such high tolls and so close to the capital have been rare, however.