North of Baghdad, heavy fighting rages over Iraqi town, while 12 bodies found outside village

Government forces and allied Sunni tribal fighters battled to dislodge militants from a small town along the Tigris River on Monday, while authorities discovered 12 bloated bodies with gunshots to the head near another village north of the capital, officials said. The clashes in Duluiyah are part of the Islamic State extremist group's larger offensive across Iraq as it tries to expand the territory under its control. The jihadis, along with other Sunni militants, have already seized control of much of northern and western Iraq, touching off the country's worst crisis since U.S. troops left in 2011. Fighters from Islamic State group barrelled into Duluiyah, some 80 kilometres (45 miles) north of Baghdad, on Sunday, and quickly seized the mayor's office, police station, local council and courthouse.

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