19 killed in Iraq clashes

Baghdad, Dec 2 (IANS/EFE) At least 19 combatants, 12 of them Shias loyal to the Iraqi government, and seven jihadis belonging to the radical Sunni Muslim Islamic State (IS) group were killed Monday in clashes north and northeast of Baghdad, a security source said.

The bloodiest encounter took place in the outskirts of the city of Samarra, about 120 km north of Baghdad.

Twelve Shia volunteers who were combating IS fighters alongside the Iraqi army were killed there.

After the arrival of reinforcements, security forces expelled the remaining jihadis from the area and destroyed four of their vehicles.

The number of casualties has not yet been determined.

Meanwhile, at least seven other jihadis were killed in an attack by the Iraqi army (with support from the police and Shia volunteers) near the city of Muqdadiyah, 120 km northeast of Baghdad.

The army also destroyed seven vehicles used by IS members in this operation.

The terrorist group won significant military victories in June in the northern provinces of Nineveh, Diyala and Saladin. It then declared a caliphate in territories under its control in Iraq and Syria.

--IANS/EFE

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