Foreign: Iraq troops 'push Islamic State from oil town of Baiji'

Iraq troops 'push Islamic State from oil town of Baiji'

Baiji's oil refinery has been under siege from IS militants since June

Iraqi officials say their forces have driven out Islamic State (IS) fighters from the oil refinery town of Baiji, 200km (130 miles) north of Baghdad.

Gen Abdul-Wahab al-Saadi told Iraqi state TV that the town "had been completely liberated".
There are still reports of heavy fighting around the oil refinery, which is Iraq's largest.
IS seized Baiji in June during a lightning advance through northern Iraq and laid siege to the refinery.
The group, which also controls large parts of northern Syria, has been the target of a US-led military campaign since August.
Loudspeakers Iraqi troops took control of large parts of Baiji on Sunday, but stopped short of advancing on the refinery, the road to which is believed to be heavily booby-trapped.
Iraqi war planes targeted fleeing IS fighters near the refinery on Friday, an Iraqi army captain told Reuters news agency.
Other reports suggested Iraqi troops had now broken through to the besieged oil facility, which lies around 10km (6 miles) from the town centre.

ISIS-led militants overran the town of Baiji in June, seizing abandoned military vehicles

Officials told AP that the Iraqi army used loudspeakers to warn residents to stay indoors during the operation.
Around 200,000 people live in the town, and the refinery accounts for around a quarter of Iraq's oil production.
The town lies on the main road to Iraq's second-largest city, Mosul, which is under the control of IS.
Iraqi troops could now use Baiji as a base for trying to take back the IS-controlled Tikrit to the south.



source:BBC