Iraq/Islamic State: Iraqi Forces and Shiite Militias Retake Oil Refinery from ISIS

Oct 16, 2015 | Michael R. Gordon, New York Times
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Iraqi forces and the Shiite militias fighting alongside them announced Friday that they had retaken the oil refinery at Baiji from Islamic State militants, in some of the first significant progress against the extremist group after months of stalled efforts. The Baiji refinery has been damaged so severely that it could take years to get it functioning again. But Iraqi officials insist that its recapture is a strategically important step, and a vital lift to morale, in the broader campaign against the Islamic State, which controls much of northern and western Iraq.