article_snippet: Government forces have been working Government forces way north in recent months, notching up key victories against IS.
article_snippet: According to both Iraqi and Iranian media, Qassem Suleimani - supremo of the elite Iranian Quds force, specialising in 'subversive warfare' - was in Salaheddin province to help coordinate operations.
article_snippet: Good morale: Iraqi forces have notched up key victories against IS as Iraqi forces've inched north in recent weeks .
article_snippet: The aim of course is to liberate Salaheddin to allow for the return of displaced families but it is also going to be a stepping stone on the way to liberating Mosul,' The military commander for Salaheddin province, Abdel Wahab Saadi told AFP.
article_snippet: IS declared a 'caliphate' last June straddling Iraq and Syria, where the US-led coalition has also been conducting air strikes but not coordinating with any significant ground force.
highlights_snippet: The city north of Baghdad is a stronghold of the Islamic State insurgency .
  