Iraqi forces push Islamic State fighters out of key western town

PanARMENIAN.Net - Iraqi forces have pushed Islamic State (IS) fighters out of the western town of al-Baghdadi, the U.S. military says, according to BBC News.

The town, which was taken over by IS last month, is about 8km (5 miles) from a base housing hundreds of U.S. troops who are training Iraqi soldiers. Iraqi forces moved in after "precise and effective" air strikes by the U.S.-led coalition, a statement said.

Meanwhile, IS was widely condemned on Friday, March 6 after it bulldozed the ancient Assyrian city of Nimrud in Iraq. IS began demolishing the site, which was founded in the 13th Century BC, on Thursday, according to Iraqi officials.

The head of the UN's cultural agency condemned the "systematic" destruction in Iraq as a "war crime".

IS, which controls large areas of Iraq and Syria, says shrines and statues are "false idols" that have to be smashed.

Nimrud lies on the Tigris river, about 30km (18 miles) south-east of Mosul, which is under IS control.