BAGHDAD
Militants affiliated with the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) group remain in control of large swathes of the Suleiman Beik neighborhood in the town of Tuz Khormato in Iraq's northern Saladin province.
"Terrorist groups have maintained a heavy presence in the southwestern part of the town, which has been abandoned by local residents who fled in a mass exodus," Suleiman Beik neighborhood director Mohamed al-Bayati told Anadolu Agency on Tuesday.
A high-level security source said that security forces backed by Iraqi military aircraft had entered the area in force, triggering clashes that remain ongoing.
"Security forces have raided several parts of the neighborhood since Monday with the support of the Air Force," the source added.
One Suleiman Beik resident, who declined to be named, told AA that there was no ISIL presence in the area and that government troops were simply using the militant group as a pretext to enter the area and make arrests.
According to another neighborhood resident who recently fled the area, the army had shelled the neighborhood for days, destroying several residential homes in the process.
Taleb Mohamed, a local official, told AA last week that ISIL militants had assumed control of the neighborhood after capturing a number of surrounding villages.
Col. Jassim Mahmoud Hassan of the Tigris Operations Command subsequently told AA, however, that the Iraqi army had successfully regained control of the neighborhood after ridding it of the ISIL presence.
The volatile town of Tuz Khormato, which is disputed between the Baghdad government and the Kurdish administration in northern Iraq, has recently seen a series of bombings that have claimed scores of lives.
Iraq in general has seen a spike in violence in recent months, with bombings and assassinations killing hundreds of people.
Most attacks go unclaimed, but authorities usually point the finger at al-Qaeda-linked militant groups.
By Aref Youssef
englishnews@aa.com.tr
