Iraq army recaptures town near Baghdad from ISIL
Press TV
The Iraqi army says its forces, backed by Shia volunteers, have recaptured the town of Jurf al-Sakhr, southwest of Baghdad, from the ISIL militants.
Located nearly 60 kilometers away from Baghdad, Jurf al-Sakhr sits on a major road linking the capital to oil-rich provinces in the south.
Earlier, over 40 terrorists were killed in fierce clashes with Iraqi soldiers in the Dwailiba district south of Baghdad. The army troops also sized a large cache of ammunition from the militants.
On Thursday, the Iraqi army, which has been fighting the terrorist group for nearly six months now, engaged the Takfiri militants south of the city of Tikrit in Salah al-Din Province, killing at least 20 terrorists.
The Iraqi army has also continued to advance in the eastern Diyala Province, regaining strategic parts of the province used by the militants as launch pads for attacks against the Iraqi forces.
In a separate incident, 134 ISIL militants along with a senior leader of the terrorist group were killed in airstrikes by the anti-ISIL coalition led by the US in the city of Baiji, which is located in Salah al-Din Province.
The US-led coalition has been conducting airstrikes on ISIL positions across Iraq, but the air raids have so far failed to dislodge the terrorists.
The Iraqi troops have pledged to make more gains in the coming weeks.
Meanwhile, the United Nations has confirmed that more than 5,000 Izadi Kurds were gunned down in a series of massacres by the ISIL Takfiri terrorists. Some 4,800 women and children are thought to be held captive, and the number is expected to rise to above 7,000.
The ISIL terrorists currently control large swathes of territory across Syria and Iraq. They have committed terrible atrocities in both countries, including mass executions and beheading of local residents as well as foreign nationals.
ASH/HMV/SS
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2014/10/24/383490/iraq-army-recaptures-town-from-isil/