Baghdad, May 6 (IANS) The Iraqi security forces on Wednesday repelled an attack by the Islamic State (IS) militants on an oilfield in Salahudin province, while battles continued with the extremist militants in Iraq’s largest refinery of Baiji, a provincial security source said.
The IS militants attacked the oilfield of Allas east of the provincial capital city of Tikrit, some 170 km north of Baghdad, sparking fierce clashes with the Iraqi security forces and allied militias, known as Hashd Shaabi (Popular Mobilization) who fought back, the source told Xinhua news agency.
After hours of heavy clashes, the IS militants failed to seize the oilfield but managed to impose a siege on the headquarters of a military brigade in the area, while reinforcement troops from the security forces and allied militias were dispatched to the scene, the source said.
So far, the clashes resulted in injuries to five militiamen, including an officer, and the destruction of two Humvees, the source said, citing initial reports.
Allas is an abandoned oilfield located at the edge of the mountainous area of Himreen, some 40 km east of Tikrit, which has been under control of the IS militants since June last year, but was freed by the Iraqi forces in March.
Separately, two Shia militiamen were killed and two others wounded after a roadside bomb went off while they were conducting a foot patrol in Himreen area, the source said.
In addition, a security personnel was killed and three others were wounded when a roadside bomb struck their vehicle near the town of Is’haqi, some 100 km north of Baghdad, the source added.
Also in the province, the security forces continued their clashes with the IS militants in the partially seized oil refinery of Baiji, some 200 km north of Baghdad, and the troops managed to blow up a suicide truck bomb inside the refinery during the battles, another provincial security source told Xinhua.
On Tuesday, Iraq dispatched reinforcements comprising a number of brigades from the federal police and allied militias, backed by tanks and armoured vehicles to an airbase just north of Tikrit in order to launch an offensive aimed at retaking full control of the oil refinery north of the town of Baiji.
Over the past few days, IS militants have repeatedly carried out attacks on government troops and allied militias, and captured large areas of the vast oil refinery.
Since March 2, around 30,000 Iraqi troops and thousands of allied Shia and Sunni militias have been involved in the biggest offensive against IS militants to recapture the northern part of Salahudin.