LATEST: Residents: Islamic State Kidnaps 40 Men in Kirkuk Province

Iraqi forces have launched another offensive against the Islamic State in Tikrit, the city in northern Iraq seized by jihadists on June 11.

Iraqi officials claimed “a significant number” of Islamic State fighters had withdrawn from northern cities, amid the ground and air attacks.

The Iraqi forces were repelled by the Islamic State when they attacked Tikrit, 90 miles north of Baghdad, last month. Snipers and special forces took up positions inside the city, but troops faced booby-trapped roads near and in Tikrit.

The Iraqi military said that their forces also resisted an attack by dozens of Islamic State fighters — driving cars packed with explosives — on Tikrit University, 20 kilometres (13 miles) south of the city, on Tuesday.

A spokesman, Brig. General Saad Maan, claimed more than 20 jihadists were killed, with three four-wheel drive vehicles destroyed and four seized.

Residents: Islamic State Kidnaps 40 Men in Kirkuk Province

Residents say Islamic State fighters kidnapped 40 men from Hawija, a predominantly-Sunni town in Kirkuk Province in northern Iraq.

The witnesses say the men were dragged into cars which then drove off from a district on the edge of Hawija. They did not know why the men were seized, adding that there had not been local resistance to the Islamic State’s control.

Human Rights Watch Raises Islamic State’s Executions Near Tikrit to Between 560 and 770

Human Rights Watch, citing new evidence, has sharply raised its estimate of the Islamic State’s executions of Iraqi forces after the capture of Tikrit in June.

HRW tripled the death toll to between 560 and 700 and said three additional execution sites had been confirmed.

Soon after Tikrit fell on June 11, the Islamic State posted videos and photographs of the executions and said it had killed 1,700 Shia soldiers, while releasing more than 2,000 Sunni troops.

Two weeks later, HRW said photographs had established the executions of between 160 and 190 men at two sites.

Al Qa’eda Challenges Islamic State With Announcement of Indian Branch

In a challenge to the “caliphate” of the Islamic State, as well as an attempt to expand in South Asia, Al Qa’eda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri has announced the formation of an Indian branch to spread Islamic rule and “raise the flag of jihad” across the subcontinent.

Zawahiri said in a video message that the new force would “crush the artificial borders” dividing Muslim populations in the region, with pursuit of its goals in India, Myanmar, and Bangladesh.

Early this year, the Islamic State broke from Al Qa’eda after Zawahiri again rejected its claim to lead jihad inside Syria, backing instead the efforts of Jabhat al-Nusra.

Zawahiri’s message was also an attempt to bolster ties with Afghanistan’s Mullah Muhammad Omar. The Al Qa’eda head said “Qaedat al-Jihad in the Indian Sub-Continent” would recognize the overarching leadership of Omar, as it was led day-to-day by senior Pakistani fighter Asim Umar.