Iraq says its forces have closed in on the city of Tikrit in a fierce battle to stop the advance of the "Islamic State" (IS). Baghdad's biggest operation so far against the millitant group is said to be making progress.
Iraq's state television Al-Iraqiya tv said that government forces backed by allied local Shiite and Sunni fighters were attacking the city of Tikrit, with the support of artillery and airstrikes by Iraqi fighter jets.
The Iraqi offensive was in good condition as a 30,000 strong force, made up of Shiite fighters and Sunni tribesmen as well as troops and police, continued the push to retake the city of Tikrit.
Militants were reported to have been dislodged from some areas outside the city, but there were no further details.
The "Islamic State" (IS) have held Tikrit since June 2014 as part of its drive to create a caliphate or the Islamic republic.
The millitants group has seized large swathes of both Iraq and Syria since last summer.
"They are using urban warfare and snipers, so we are advancing in a cautious and delicate way, and we need more time," a lieutenant general on the ground.
Forces in northern Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region are also making gains against the IS. Similarly, in Syria, Kurdish fighters recently ran the group out of Kobani, a city on the Turkish-Syrian border.
Top US General Martin Dempsey has said Iran's involvement in dislodging "Islamic State" from the city of Tikrit could be "positive." Tens of thousands of Iraqi troops and Shiite fighters and Sunni tribesmen have moved in around the city.
Tikrit is around 160 kilometres (100 miles) north of the capital, Baghdad, and is the hometown of former president Saddam Hussein. The remaining members of his Baath party have collaborated with IS.
The Tikrit offensive is part of an even bigger operation to eventually retake the northern city of Mosul, which is the main IS hub in Iraq.
The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) has expressed its concern over the increasing number of civilians fleeing Tikrit saying around 2.5 million people had already been displaced in Iraq.
The UN also warned Iraq that operations "must be conducted with the utmost care to avoid civilian casualties, and with full respect for fundamental human rights principles and humanitarian law."
