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1st LD: Iraqi forces free town in Salahudin province from IS militants

Xinhua, March 6, 2015 Adjust font size:

Iraqi security forces on Friday liberated the town of Dour from the Islamic State (IS) militants who have captured the town for months, as part of a major offensive in Iraq's northern central province of Salahudin, provincial security sources said.

The troops and allied Shiite and Sunni militias, covered by Iraqi aircraft, entered the town of Dour, in south of the provincial capital city of Tikrit, some 170 km north of Baghdad, from all directions after heavy bombardment on the central neighborhoods, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

"Most of Daash (IS militant group) foreign fighters have fled the town earlier and only few local fighters remained," the source said, adding that the troops were still fighting sporadic clashes in small pockets inside the town.

The troops were moving slowly and cautiously inside the town, while the explosive experts were dealing with dozens of roadside bombs and booby-trapped buildings that were left by the IS militants, the source said.

"The security forces and allied militias started their next stage of the offensive, which is to enter the urban areas after they fulfilled the operations of surrounding the militant-held city of Tikrit and other towns, as well as cutting the IS supply routes," Major General Imad al-Zeheiri told Xinhua.

Meanwhile, the army units continued their heavy shelling with artillery, mortar rounds and rockets on the IS positions in the city of Tikrit, nearby town of Alam and adjacent Albu Ajil area, as part of their preparations to retake control the remaining areas of the province.

The Iraqi security forces began their operation before Sunday dawn via five paths: two from Mkesheifa and Sur Shnas, south of Tikrit, two others from Udheim and Tuz Khurmato, east of Tikrit, and the last from the Speicher airbase, just north of Tikrit, according to security sources.

Large parts of Salahudin province have been under IS control since June 11, a day after bloody clashes broke out between Iraqi security forces and the IS group, which took control of the country's northern city of Mosul and later seized swathes of territories in Nineveh and other predominantly Sunni provinces. Endit