NATS -- (machine gun rounds)<br/> <br />Intense fighting in Iraq's Diyala province.<br/> <br />Iraq's Ministry of Defense says troops have recaptured 16 villages from Islamic State militants.<br/> <br />One soldier hopes they can retake all of Diyala province by the Eid al-Adha holidays, starting October 4th.<br/> <br />(SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) UNIDENTIFIED SOLDIER, SAYING:<br/> <br />"We have liberated almost all the areas and the rest will be liberated soon, and the joy of eid (al-adha) will be doubled."<br/> <br />The Iraqi government says more than 100 Islamic State militants were killed in the fighting -- 25 vehicles were destroyed and 50 bombs diffused.<br/> <br />Over in Anbar province, military chiefs inspect an area known as the Baghdad belt.<br/> <br />Islamic State fighters swept through northern Iraq in June, seizing cities, including Mosul and Tikrit.<br/> <br />But their recent moves suggest they are worried about U.S.-led air strikes, backed by the Iraqi army and the Kurdish peshmerga force on the ground.
