Militants have seized most of a key Shiite majority town in northern Iraq, a government official said on Tuesday, in fighting that has killed dozens of civilians and combatants.
Security forces and civilian fighters still hold parts of Tal Afar, in Nineveh province, along a strategic corridor to Syria, according to deputy provincial council chief Nuriddin Qabalan.
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Militants attacked and took control of parts of the central Iraq city of Baquba but security forces eventually repelled the assault on Tuesday, army and police officers said.
The overnight attack took place in the centre of Baquba, capital of Diyala provinnce, and according to the officers, saw militants temporarily occupying several neighbourhoods.
AFP