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US Official Says Iraqi Forces Liberated Only Half of Baiji

© AFP 2023 / AHMAD AL-RUBAYE Iraqi Shiite fighters from the Popular Mobilisation force raise their flag in the city of Baiji, north of Tikrit, as they advance against the Islamic State jihadist group to try to retake the strategic town for a second time, on June 8, 2015
Iraqi Shiite fighters from the Popular Mobilisation force raise their flag in the city of Baiji, north of Tikrit, as they advance against the Islamic State jihadist group to try to retake the strategic town for a second time, on June 8, 2015 - Sputnik International
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Iraqi forces have liberated only half of Baiji despite claims that the whole city had been cleared of Islamic State (ISIL) militants, CNN reported Tuesday, citing an unnamed US official.

British military advisers instruct Kurdish Peshmerga fighters during a training session at a shooting range on the outskirts of Arbil, the capital of the autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq on November 5, 2014 - Sputnik International
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MOSCOW (Sputnik) Baiji is located 130 miles north of Baghdad and is best known for a nearby oil refinery, the largest in the country. The city was seized by ISIL in June 2014. Iraqi forces began their operation to free Baiji in October. On Sunday, media reported that the Iraqi army has regained full control of the entire city.

"It's too early to declare Baiji liberated," the official told CNN. According to the source, Iraqi military, along with Shiite militias, have so far cleared only the northern half of the city. Their movement to the south has been slowed by snipers and booby traps.

The Islamic State is a Sunni jihadist group that started to seize vast territories in Iraq and Syria in 2014. IS-affiliated groups also operate in Yemen, Libya, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

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