Iraqi troops retake 'most of IS-controlled oil refinery town of Baiji'

Iraqi soldiers battling the Islamic State (IS) have reportedly taken most of the Iraqi town of Baiji which houses the country's largest refinery that can produce 320,000 oil barrels a day.

State television quoted the top army commander, General Abdul-Wahab al-Saadi, as saying that the troops had recaptured Baiji's local government and police headquarters at the centre of the town, reported Fox News.

Raed Ibrahim, the governor of Salahuddin province, where both Baiji and Tikrit are located, said that the army had seized control of about 75 percent of the town by Tuesday.

The latest advances could soon end the five-month-long seize on the town that was overrun by IS fighters last summer.

Recapturing the refinery that accounts for a quarter of Iraq's refining capacity will be the next objective in the military operation to retake Baiji, the report said.