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IRAQI troops backed by Shi’ite militias recaptured key parts of the northern refinery town of Beiji from Islamic State (Isis) forces yesterday.
“The enemy has sustained heavy losses and we hope that the whole city will be cleared within few days,” Joint Operations Command spokesman Brigadier General Saad Maan Ibrahim claimed, saying “dozens” of Isis fighters had perished.
Gen Maan said the capture of Beiji would help Iraqi forces to better secure the nearby oil refinery.
Beiji fell to the extremist group nearly a year ago, but the refinery has remained contested ground.
The town is strategically significant as it lies on the road to Isis-held Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city.
Iraqi and Kurdish forces have managed to roll back the terror group in many parts of the country but last month Isis won a major victory by taking Ramadi.
