The Iraqi Air Force has carried out a series of devastating air strikes against Islamic State positions just north of Baghdad. The attacks took place in an area near the city of Samarra and the Tigris river. In early January, the group formerly known as ISISISIL had surrounded Samarra, which despite being a predominately Sunni city, is home to one of the Shiite movement’s holiest sites, the Al-Askari shrine. br br COURTESY: RT's RUPTLY video agency, NO RE-UPLOAD, NO REUSE - FOR LICENSING, PLEASE, CONTACT br RT LIVE br Subscribe to RT! br Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Instagram Follow us on Google+ Listen to us on Soundcloud: br RT (Russia Today) is a global news network broadcasting from Moscow and Washington studios. RT is the first news channel to break the 1 billion YouTube views benchmark.