article_snippet: Iraqi Army soldiers are seen covered in smoke and debris during clashes with the Islamic State .
article_snippet: Smoke rises from an explosion as Iraqi forces, Shiite militiamen and Sunni tribal fighters battle Islamic State militants for control of the Islamic State earlier this morning .
article_snippet: Despite reports of local successes and the killing of ISIS in Tikrit local second in command, officials in northern Iraq say troops are still clashing with jihadis south of the Islamic State.
article_snippet: officials in northern Iraq say fierce clashes are underway outside the town of al-Dour, south of the Islamic State.
article_snippet: Shi'ite fighters clash with Islamic State militants at Udhaim dam, north of Baghdad yesterday .
article_snippet: Despite reports of local successes and the killing of ISIS' local second in command, officials in northern Iraq say troops are still clashing with jihadis south of Tikrit .
article_snippet: So ferocious is the explosion that a thick black cloud of smoke is seen rising high in to the air, while debris litters the landscape for several hundred metres.