Iraqi military forces reach northern city of Baiji

An army colonel and a witness have said Iraqi military forces reached the centre of the northern city of Baiji on Sunday to try to break an Islamic State siege of the country's biggest refinery nearby, triggering fierce clashes with the militants.

Islamic State Sunni insurgents seized Baiji city in June during a lightning advance through northern Iraq. Since then, they have surrounded the refinery and halted its production while a detachment of government troops has held out for months under siege inside it.

The colonel said Iraqi troops entered Baiji, a city of about 200,000 people, from the south and west and took over the al-Tamim neighbourhood and city centre.