Kurds advance south of Tikrit as Iraq army bombards Kirkuk
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Kurds advance south of Tikrit as Iraq army bombards Kirkuk

Kurds advance south of Tikrit as Iraq army bombards Kirkuk

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(AGI) Baghdad, Mar 17 - Kurdish Peshmerga forces advanced southof Kirkuk on Monday, taking control of several villages thathad been in the hands of the Islamic State. The bodies of anumber of jihadist fighters, including foreigners, were foundin the liberated areas. Polla Dalo, director of security ofDaquq, a city south of Kirkuk, told the news agency BasNewsthat "following clashes with IS insurgents on Mar. 16, a numberof IS bodies have been left in the area. The Peshmerga freedmany areas in the operation. The reason IS brings foreignmilitants to the frontlines is because that they are unfamiliarwith the area and don't know how to escape. Therefore, theyhave no choice but to fight to the death. The tactic preventsretreat." Mr Dalo said that the Peshmerga has liberated threevillages in the Kirkuk area, and had found the bodies of morethan 25 Islamic State militants. Meanwhile, the Iraqi armedforces and Shiite militias are continuing to bombard IslamicState positions in Tikrit, although they announced thetemporary suspension of operations to regain the city, whichhas been in the hands of jihadists for just under a year,reported Shiite militia sources. The attacks in recent hourswere concentrated on the Qadisiyah quarter and around thepresidential palaces, the sources continued. The army andmilitia also killed at least seven IS suicide bombers on Mondaymorning as they were preparing to strike military targets.After a rapid advance in the first days of the offensive, whichbegan in early February, the Tikrit operations suffered a clearsetback due to IS resistance with landmines, handmadeexplosives and suicide bombers.. .
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