The Iraqi military and irregular militias freed a palace complex that was used as the residence of the former head of the country, Saddam Hussein, and was captured by the ISIL terrorists, a representative of an Iraqi militia, Karim al-Nuri, told Sputnik.
"The operation to liberate the palace was carried out by soldiers of the national Shiite militias, Sunni tribes and the Iraqi army. Militants suffered serious losses," al-Nuri said.
Earlier, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced the start of the second phase of a large-scale military operation to liberate the entire province of Salah al-Din from the militants of the terrorist group Islamic State, including the city of Baiji — the largest oil refining center in the country. Fighting in the city is still underway.
