SALAHUDDIN provincial governor Raed Ibrahim announced today that Iraqi soldiers battling Islamic State (Isis) forces have recaptured the heart and outlying districts of the town of Beiji.

Retaking Beiji, home to the country’s largest oil refinery 155 miles north of Baghdad, could allow government forces a base to attack neighbouring Tikrit, which was taken by the extremists in their lightning advance in the summer.

However, the national army, reinforced by Shi’ite militias, has faced pockets of stiff resistance around Beiji, hindering their advance.

Top army commander in Beiji, General Abdul-Wahab al-Saadi, announced that his troops had recaptured the city’s local government and police headquarters at the centre of the town.

Mr Ibrahim said that the military had secured about 75 per cent of the town, although he warned that Isis militants were putting up fierce resistance, using suicide bombers to stall the military’s advance.

And many of the buildings in Beiji were booby-trapped.