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Five key battles on Iraq’s scattered frontlines

By AFP - Aug 02,2014 - Last updated at Aug 02,2014

BAGHDAD — Jihadist fighters from the Islamic State (IS) group swept in from the northwest of Iraq and across much of the country’s Sunni areas nearly two months ago.

The forces battling them and their motivations are diverse. Here is a snapshot of five flashpoints to watch across Iraq:

 

Baiji refinery

 

Where: 200 kilometres north of Baghdad

Who: Iraq special forces

 

Iraq’s largest refinery, which at times was providing a third of its fuel, has been besieged by IS militants for weeks. Special forces tasked with defending the facility, which IS also sees as crucial to its own parallel economy, have looked isolated.

Fighting there led to a huge fire on Thursday but despite repeated attempts and claims by the jihadists, government forces have never completely lost control of the plant and were still holding out.

 

Amerli

 

Where: 160 kilometres north of Baghdad

Who: Turkmen fighters and government forces

 

The Turkmen town has been completely surrounded by IS fighters for six weeks, trapping thousands of civilians who have taken up arms to fight for their lives.

Residents say a humanitarian disaster is imminent in the town, which has been without power and drinking water for days. Some Shiite volunteers have joined army units who have so far stopped south of Amerli, unable to break the siege.

 

Jalawla

 

Where: 130 kilometres northeast of Baghdad

Who: Kurdish peshmerga

 

Jalawla is where the Kurds are being drawn into the conflict. It is one of the formerly contested areas the Kurdish peshmerga forces moved into when government troops fled in the face of the IS advance in June.

The town, south of the recognised autonomous Kurdish zone, has seen almost daily fighting in which the peshmerga have lost dozens of men. Cash constraints mean they have just managed to hold their positions but been unable to establish firm control.

 

Dhuluiya

 

Where: 90 kilometres north of Baghdad

Who: Police and Sunni tribal fighters

 

Dhuluiya has been repeatedly attacked by IS fighters but one Sunni tribe has held out in the south of the town, which is essential for IS if it wants to progress towards Baghdad.

Fighting there has been fierce, notably because a destroyed bridge means there is no easy escape and because any surrender would likely lead to mass executions among Sunni tribes that once collaborated with the US army and now with the Shiite-led regime.

 

Jurf Al Sakhr

 

Where: 50 kilometres southwest of Baghdad

Who: Government forces and Shiite militia

 

The small town nestled along the Euphrates has seen some of the most relentless fighting since the start of the IS offensive. Seventeen soldiers were killed there on Friday alone.

Using the IS-controlled city of Fallujah as a rear base, jihadists in Jurf Al Sakhr have battled pro-government forces keen to prevent a foray that would expose the nearby holy Shiite city of Karbala and further encircle Baghdad by cutting the main road to the south.

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