Iraqi forces halt ISIS march to Baghdad

Iraqi security forces have retaken most of the town of Jurf al-Sakhar near Baghdad from ISIS , the biggest gains in months of fighting for the strategic area, senior local officials said on Saturday. Full control of the town could allow Iraqi authorities to prevent the Sunni insurgents from edging closer to the capital and maintaining connections to their strongholds in western Anbar province as well as infiltrating the mainly Shia south. ‘We have managed to push out ISIS from the town of Jurf al-Sakhar and now we are raising the Iraqi flag over the government offices,’ provincial governor said. Some ISIS fighters had fled towards the city of Falluja while fighting still raged near a bridge linking Jurf al-Sakhar to Anbar.