STRIKING BACK
Iraqi Shiite fighters from the Popular Mobilization units deploy in the city of Baiji, north of Tikrit, as they fight alongside Iraqi forces against the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group to try to retake the strategic town for a second time, on June 9, 2015. Baghdad regained control of Baiji—located on the road to IS hub Mosul and near the country’s largest oil refinery—last year, but subsequently lost it again. AFP PHOTO
Iraqi Shiite fighters from the Popular Mobilization units deploy in the city of Baiji, north of Tikrit, as they fight alongside Iraqi forces against the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group to try to retake the strategic town for a second time, on June 9, 2015. Baghdad regained control of Baiji—located on the road to IS hub Mosul and near the country’s largest oil refinery—last year, but subsequently lost it again. AFP PHOTO
WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama appears poised to approve the deployment of hundreds more US training personnel to Iraq, in a bid to reverse gains by the Islamic State group.