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IS militants return to outskirts of strategic Iraqi town

BAGHDAD - Islamic State militants have returned to the outskirts of a strategic oil refinery town after being driven out last month, an Iraqi official said Tuesday.

 

Gov. Raed Ibrahim of the Salahuddin province said the militants fought their way to the edge of Beiji after three days of heavy clashes. He said they were able to advance because Iraqi troops lack heavy weapons.

 

The militants captured Beiji and besieged its refinery - the country's largest - during their rapid advance across Iraq last summer. Iraqi forces wrested the town back in mid-November in one of their biggest victories to date against the insurgents. The refinery is some 20 kilometers (15 miles) north of town.

 


פרסום ראשון: 12.23.14, 18:29