Iraq army recaptures several areas from ISIL

The Iraqi army says it has liberated several areas in the north of the war-torn country from the ISIL Takfiri militants, inflicting heavy losses on the insurgents.

“The military operations, which began on Friday, have succeeded in their first phase in liberating some areas,” Khaled al-Khazraji, a senior army commander in the northern Salahuddin Province, said on Sunday.

Reports say Iraqi military forces secured a route between the northern cities of Tikrit and Baiji during an operation, which left dozens of terrorists dead.

They also conducted a military operation in Diyala province, killing a large number of ISIL terrorists there.

Khazraji went on to say that the operations “will continue to liberate other areas and cut the supply routes for the terrorist ISIL gangs.”

The new army operations are mainly focused on areas near the northern oil town of Baiji and the city of Tikrit, situated 140 kilometers northwest of the capital, Baghdad.

The new developments come as the Iraqi army, backed by volunteer forces, continues to gain more ground in the fight against the ISIL militants, inflicting heavy losses on them on several fronts.

The Iraqi army has been fighting the terrorist group for nearly six months now. The troops have pledged to gain more ground in the coming weeks.

The US-led coalition has also conducted several airstrikes on ISIL positions across Iraq, but the air raids have so far failed to dislodge the terrorists.

The ISIL militants have seized large swathes of land in Iraq and Syria, terrorizing all communities, including Shias, Sunnis, Kurds and Christians, in the areas they are controlling.