Iraqi forces say they have recaptured two towns northeast of Baghdad from Islamic State (IS) militants.
Some 50 IS fighters were killed while being driven out of the towns of Jawalha and Saadiya on November 23 by the Iraqi National Army, Shi'ite militias, and Kurdish Peshmerga forces, according to Iraqi and Kurdish sources.
Medical and army sources said at least 20 Peshmerga and militia fighters were killed in the operation.
The claims could not be independently verified.
Meanwhile, clashes continue near the central city of Ramadi.
Backed by U.S.-led air strikes, Shi'ite militias, and Sunni tribesmen, Iraq's army has recently regained several towns from IS militants who had swept through mainly Sunni Muslim provinces in northern and western Iraq.
The strategic towns of Baiji and Jurf al-Sakhr have also been retaken from IS militants, who still control large areas, including the cities of Mosul, Tikrit, and Fallujah.
