Military reinforcements have arrived in Salah el-din province as part of an operation to recapture the southern parts of the province from Daesh militant group, said the deputy head of the provincial security committee.
Khaled al-Khazragy described the wide scale operation as important, adding that it would help free the province and the key city of Tikrit from Daesh.
Starting September, the US-led coalition has launched several airstrikes against Daesh hotbeds in Iraq and Syria.