Iraq launches offensive to recapture Tikrit from IS

Baghdad, March 2: Iraq's state TV said on Monday that government forces backed by allied Shia and Sunni fighters have launched a military operation to recapture Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit from the Islamic State terrorist group.

Al-Iraqiya television said the forces were attacking the city of Tikrit, backed by artillery and airstrikes by Iraqi fighter jets.

It said the IS fighters were dislodged from some areas outside the city, Al Jazeera reported.

Tikrit, some 130 km north of Baghdad, fell into IS hands last year along with the country's second largest city of Mosul.

On Sunday, Iraqi forces also launched another military offensive against IS in other parts of Salahuddin province.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abbadi arrived on Sunday in the city of Samarra in Salahuddin to oversee the military operation, and vowed to "liberate" the province "from the tyranny of the terrorists".

IANS