BAGHDAD: Daesh has killed five policemen in a town near Iraq’s biggest refinery, in an attack that may help ease pressure on some of its fighters trapped in the strategically important facility, a security official said on Wednesday.
The official in a regional security command center said the insurgents mounted the operation at Tal Albu Jarad village as part of a battle for control of Baiji refinery, which has changed hands several times.
After receiving reinforcements, Daesh militants recaptured three neighborhoods in the town of Baiji near the refinery, but fresh clashes have erupted there, the security official said.
The fighting has seen some Daesh fighters become trapped in the refinery while siege from government forces and militias.
Meanwhile, the US called for a “greater commitment” from Iraq’s government in the fight against Daesh as it lamented Baghdad’s failure to deliver enough soldiers for training and underscored the need to empower Sunni tribesmen.
“As I’ve told Iraqi leaders, while the US is open to supporting Iraq more than we already are, we must see a greater commitment from all parts of the Iraqi government,” US Defense Secretary Ash Carter told a congressional hearing in prepared testimony.