Iraqi forces in tit-for-tat fight with IS militants in Salahudin

Militants from the Islamic State (IS) group on Wednesday carried out attacks on Iraqi security forces and seized some military positions in Iraq's northern central province of Salahudin, a provincial security source said.

Dozens of IS militants managed to take several military positions after fierce clashes with the security forces in the abandoned fertilizer plant, some 20 km north of Baiji town, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

Meanwhile, the extremist militants attacked the military positions in the presidential palaces of the former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein in Makhoul mountain, some 15 km northeast of Baiji, and also seized some positions, the source said.

Later in the day, reinforcement troops and allied paramilitary Shiite militias known as Hashd Shaabi carried out counter attacks under the cover of Iraqi warplanes and helicopter gunships to regain the military positions from IS militants, the source said, adding that heavy clashes are underway at the scenes.

The source said that one report about casualties among security forces said that five security members were killed and 27 others wounded, but there were no immediate reports about casualties among IS militants.

Salahudin is a predominantly Sunni Arab province and has witnessed a major offensive during the past months by Iraqi security forces and Hashd Shaabi units, who managed to regain control of key towns in the province from IS militants, including the provincial capital city of Tikrit itself, which is located some 170 km north of Baghdad.

Iraq is currently witnessing a wave of violence since the IS controlled parts of Iraq's northern and western regions in June 2014. Endit