| gulfnews.com | - |
Baghdad:
Iraqi troops backed by Shiite militias recaptured key parts of the
northern refinery town of Baiji from Daesh militants on Sunday, a
general said.
IRAQ
June 7, 2015 | Last updated 2 minutes ago
Iraq troops advance against Daesh in Baiji
Town is strategic as it lies on the road to Daesh-held Mosul
Published: 16:54 June 7, 2015
Baghdad: Iraqi troops backed by Shiite militias
recaptured key parts of the northern refinery town of Baiji from Daesh
militants on Sunday, a general said.
The commander of the Interior Ministry’s Quick Reaction Forces, Brig. Gen. Nasser Al Fartousi, told state TV that the Iraqi flag was raised on a local government building in Baiji and that troops were advancing to other areas, without elaborating.
There was no word on the fate of the contested refinery on the town’s outskirts.
Baiji, some 250 kilometers north of Baghdad, fell to Daesh during its blitz across northern Iraq nearly a year ago, but parts of the town and nearby refinery have since been retaken by government forces. The town is strategically significant as it lies on the road to Daesh-held Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city.
Iraqi and Kurdish forces have managed to roll back Daesh in many parts of the country with the help of US-led air strikes, and recaptured the northern city of Tikrit in April. But last month Daesh captured Ramadi, the provincial capital of the western Anbar province, in the extremists’ most significant advance since last year.
Daesh has declared an so-called caliphate in the territories it controls in Syria and Iraq, and has used oil facilities and smuggling to finance much of its operations.
In neighboring Syria, the US-led coalition carried out air strikes against Daesh positions in the northern town of Souran, which Daesh captured last week from Syrian rebel groups and members of Al Qaida’s affiliate in Syria, Al Nusra Front.
The Local Coordination Committees and the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the air strikes occurred Saturday night. The Observatory said the air strikes killed eight Daesh members, including a local Syrian commander, and wounded 20.
The coalition air strikes against Daesh in Souran were the first in the area since the extremist group launched an offensive last month on the northern parts of Aleppo province close to the border with Turkey. Daesh has captured several villages and towns from Al Nusra Front and Syrian rebels.
Since September, the coalition has carried out hundreds of air strikes against Daesh in Syria. The coalition has also carried out a handful of air strikes against Al Nusra Front. The US says it has targeted an Al Nusra Front cell plotting attacks on Western interests.
The main Western-backed opposition group, the Syrian National Coalition, says government warplanes have been attacking rebels in Aleppo province, claiming that the “terrorist interests” of President Bashar Al Assad’s government and Daesh are aligned.
In the northeastern city of Hasakeh, government forces have launched a counteroffensive and regained ground lost to Daesh last week, state media said. State news agency SANA said government forces have retaken the power station south of Hasakeh as well as the juvenile prison that had been recently seized by Daesh.
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