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Iraqi security forces repel IS attack in Salahudin province

Xinhua, September 22, 2015 Adjust font size:

Iraqi security forces on Tuesday repelled an attack by Islamic State (IS) militants on a strategic area near the oil refinery town of Baiji in Salahudin province, a provincial security source said.

The attack occurred after midnight when a dozens of IS militants attacked the positions of the troops and allied paramilitary militias in the strategic hill of Tal Abu Jrad which controls the roads between the battleground town of Baiji and Seiniyah, a small town held by IS group located some 10 km west of Baiji, a provincial security source said on condition of anonymity.

The attackers set fire to several tanker trucks filled with black oil to cover the routes of their advance to the positions of the security forces, but heavy clashes with the security forces foiled their plan to seize the strategic hill which the two side exchanged control on it during the past months, the source said.

The security forces fought back the attack until the sunrise when the army helicopter gunships took part in the battle and pounded the IS positions and vehicles, forcing them to withdraw from the scene after burning several IS vehicles, leaving at least 4 IS militants and 14 security members wounded, the source said citing initial reports

"Many IS militants were killed and wounded during the overnight battle, but their number could not be exactly specified as the militants evacuated their deaths and wounded before their withdrawal," the source added.

The security forces and pro-government paramilitary groups, backed by Iraqi and U.S.-led coalition aircraft, have been fighting fierce clashes with the extremist militants to drive them out of the town of Baiji and the nearby areas, including the 22-square kilometer oil refinery. But the two sides have involved in fierce tug-of-war battles during the past few months.

The predominantly Sunni province of Salahudin has been the scene for deadly battles between the Iraqi security forces backed by paramilitary militias and IS militants. Enditem