Iraqi troops have taken control of the main road between the capital Baghdad and the holy city of Samarra, the army officials said on Wednesday.

The achievement followed a fierce battle against militants from the ISIL in the eastern province of Diyala.

The Iraqi military also said troops gunned down an unspecified number of militants and destroyed nearly a dozen of their vehicles during the operation near Samarra.

The military sources added the army still maintains full control of the key oil refinery in the town of Baiji in northern Salaheddin Province after engaging in heavy clashes with the militants.

The sources added that troops have repelled an attack on the refinery at dawn.

However, ISIL Takfiri militants claimed they have taken control of the oil refinery in Baiji.

Takfiri militants have been attacking Baiji refinery, which produces a third of the country’s oil output, for the past ten days. Earlier reports said the militants destroyed some oil stores of the refinery.

On June 10, the ISIL militants took control of Mosul, the capital of Nineveh Province. They later took control of the city of Tikrit, located about 140 kilometers (87 miles) northwest of Baghdad.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has said that the country’s security forces would confront the terrorists, calling the seizure of Mosul a “conspiracy.” The Iraqi prime minister has also blamed Saudi Arabia and Qatar for the security crisis and growing terrorism in his country, denouncing Riyadh as a major supporter of global terrorism.

HH/HH