BAGHDAD — More than 17 people were killed in Iraq on Monday in clashes between the Daesh (the so-called IS) militants and pro-government forces in a town close to the country's biggest refinery. The refinery beside the town of Baiji has changed hands before, reflecting the Iraqi army's struggle to hold territory it recaptures after months of clashes.
Fighting on Monday took place on a road used by Daesh for supply lines leading from Baiji to the nearby town of Siniya to the west.
Twelve militants, two government soldiers and three members of Shiite militias that provide vital support for the army were killed, a senior regional security official said.
Siniya is held by Daesh.
Iraq's government hoped to gain significant momentum after the army and its Shiite militia allies seized back Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit in April after a month-long battle.
But the Shiite-led government faced a setback last month when Daesh captured Ramadi, provincial capital of Anbar Province, the country's Sunni heartland.
Iraq's army, which has largely proven ineffective against the insurgents, relies heavily on Iranian-backed Shiite militias as well as on US-led airstrikes to slow the momentum of Daesh.
The group has used beheadings and executions, sometimes videotaped, to strike fear into residents of areas it captures to try to create a self-sustaining caliphate and redraw the map of the Middle East.
Daesh's territorial advances and ambitions have exacerbated a sectarian conflict in Iraq, which is still struggling to find stability four years after the withdrawal of the last US troops. — Reuters
