DIYALA, Iraq
Scores of militants linked to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) have been killed in an air assault launched by Iraqi Air Force in the eastern province of Diyala, security official said on Monday.
Sadiq al-Husayni, chairman of the provincial assembly's security committee, told Anadolu Agency that there were violent fighting between ISIL fighters and security forces supported by local tribes in Halis district.
Halis District Governor Adi al-Hudran said that no security personnel was killed in the clashes in the district, adding that they requested reinforcement forces and military supplies from Baghdad.
Meanwhile, Ferhan Fetihan, district governor of the border town of Al Qaim, said that the security forces retained control of Ramane and Kerable regions after clashes with ISIL.
11 people including seven ISIL fighters were killed and 30 others were wounded during the clashes, Fetihan said.
Former lawmaker Abbas al-Bayati denied allegations that ISIL-led militants took complete control of northwestern Iraqi district Tal Afar, saying, "Tel Afar has been resisting since last night. ISIL could not take it completely."
Iraqi Turkmen Front MP Aydin Maruf told AA that ISIL forces took Operational Forces Commander General Abu Velid and Mosul's security chief Vasiq Hamdani captive during the clashes in Tel Afar. However, Iraqi Defence Ministry denied the claim that Velid was captured by the ISIL.
Meanwhile, United Nations (UN) has announced that they started to evacuate its staff in Baghdad. UN Secretary General Spokesperson Farhan Haq stated that the UN has 200 personnels in Baghdad and that 58 of them were sent to Jordanian capital Amman.
ISIL, which already had control of parts of Syria, has extended its reach into Iraq since June 10, when it seized Iraq's second-largest city Mosul and soon afterwards took near-complete control of the northern Iraqi city of Tikrit.
www.aa.com.tr/en
