Second Battle of Tikrit

Iraqi forces have entered Tikrit, dodging bombs and sniper fire in search of their biggest victory yet against embattled jihadists who tried to light new fires elsewhere in Iraq and Syria.
      

Iraqi forces entered a northern neighbourhood of Tikrit March 11, marking a new stage in the operation launched 10 days ago to wrest the city back from jihadists, army officers said.
      
"We are now doing combat missions to cleanse the neighbourhood of Qadisiyah," a major general told AFP on condition of anonymity.        

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) executed 20 people who wanted to fight against them in the northern Iraqi province of Kirkuk, officials said on March 9.
      

Military operations aimed at retaking the Iraqi city of Tikrit from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) jihadist group have caused around 28,000 people to flee their homes, the United Nations said on March 5.
      
"Military operations in and around Tikrit have precipitated displacement of an estimated 28,000 people to Samarra," a UN statement said.
      

Iran's direct support for an Iraqi push to dislodge the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group from the northern city of Tikrit could turn out to be "a positive thing" if it does not inflame sectarian tensions, the top U.S. general has said.

Iraqi forces closed in on Tikrit on March 3, their progress slowed by jihadist snipers and booby traps, on the second day of Baghdad's largest operation yet against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
      
The government has mobilised a 30,000-strong force for the push to retake Tikrit made up of Shiite militiamen and Sunni tribesmen as well as troops and police.

ISIS fighters are in control of many strongholds in the -mainly Sunni- Salahuddin (Saladin) area north of Baghdad, as well as other cities along the river Tiger. At the same time, many Shiite guardsmen have gathered to fight against ISIS.

Iraq launched a military operation against Islamic State (IS) to recapture the city of Tikrit, which lies 150 kilometres north of the country's capital Baghdad.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced the launch of the offensive late on Sunday, the BBC reports.

Some 30,000 Iraqi troops and militia backed by aircraft pounded jihadists in and around Tikrit in the biggest offensive yet to retake one of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL)'s main strongholds.
      

Backed by allied Shiite and Sunni fighters, Iraqi security forces on Monday began a large-scale military operation to recapture Saddam Hussein's hometown from Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), state TV said, a major step in a campaign to reclaim a large swath of territory in northern Iraq controlled by the militants.