US-backed Iraqi government troops, and Iranian-trained and armed Shiite paramilitary groups known as Popular Mobilization Units, have captured the town of Hawija and the surrounding area from Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL), the Iraqi military said on Thursday. Hawija was the militants’ last stronghold in northern Iraq. The only area that now remains under IS control in Iraq is a stretch along the western border with Syria, Reuters reports. Hawija is close to the oil city of Kirkuk.