ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Iraqi joint forces have recaptured new areas near Tikrit in Salahaddin province previously held by ISIS fighters, the Iraqi Ministry of Defense has announced. According to the statement released Sunday, “Iraq ground forces belonging to Brigade 17, backed by federal police and Hashd al-Shaabi militias with air support from Iraqi warplanes, have repelled ISIS gunmen in western Salahaddin province.” Areas such as Said Gharib, Smellat and Kasarat, Qrsabya and Bushlesh, Amana and Umm Talaib and Busail were allegedly recaptured by Iraqi forces Saturday. Meanwhile, a statement released by the Shiite militias of Hashd al-Shaabi, aka Popular Mobilization Units, said Saturday the groups’ fighters pushed away ISIS jihadis in the north of Salahaddin province. The statement claimed casualties from the ISIS side were high, but did not provide further details. Saturday’s announcements of progress in Salahaddin come as Iraqi forces and thousands of Shiite militiamen are battling ISIS in the Sunni-dominated Iraqi province of Anbar, reportedly with no significant advances so far.
