Iraqi Army and Shiite Militias Recapture Large Part of Baiji Refinery

Iraqi security officials say that the country's army and Shiite militias recaptured most of the Baiji refinery, the largest oil refinery in the country, from Islamic State militants on Thursday, October 15. Reuters reports that this information cannot be confirmed at the moment as the conflict zone remains very dangerous and journalists cannot access it. The refinery is located around the city of Baiji, 190 kilometers north of Baghdad. The Baiji refinery is a key battleground in the effort to contain the Islamic State group, having changed hands several times between Iraqi forces and the group since last summer when the militants seized large areas of northern Iraq. The Islamic State group currently controls about one-third of Iraq's territory. The Iraqi army and volunteer militias, most of whom are Shiite, began operations to seize the Baiji refinery on Wednesday. An anti-terrorism spokesperson for Iraq told Reuters that government forces and militias have control over most of the refinery and are in the process of clearing small groups of Islamic State militants. The spokesperson added, 'Anti-terror units and volunteer militias have taken control of all entrances and facilities of the refinery.' Mohammad Mahmoud, the mayor of Baiji, also told Reuters that Iraqi police forces have control over most of the city. He added, 'I can confidently confirm that our forces have succeeded in the battle for the capture of the refinery and the city of Baiji. Most of the city is under our control, and we have now surrounded several ISIS snipers who are stationed in a few buildings.' Iraqi government forces and Shiite militias also managed to push back Islamic State militants from the city of Tikrit in April, which was a significant defeat for the group. However, shortly after, Islamic State forces regained control of the refinery and city of Baiji and a large part of Anbar province in western Iraq. Anbar province is now another main front in the battle against the group. Video footage seen by Reuters shows Hadi al-Amiri, the commander of the Badr Organization and a prominent Shiite politician, discussing military operations with several Shiite militants around a map in the Baiji refinery area.