Iraqi forces launched an attack on Tuesday to retake the northern Iraqi city of Tikrit, the second offensive since extremists took over several cities across the country in June.
Army officials told DPA that military forces began their assault on the city from the northern and southern entrances of the city, and are trying to move towards the provincial council in the centre of Tikrit.
The forces are backed by tanks, helicopters and artillery as they attempt to seize control of the city from militia led by fighters of the terrorist organisation Islamic State.
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The Army has been trying to take control of Tikrit, 140 kilometres north-west of Baghdad, for the past two weeks.
Fighters of the Islamic State seized large swathes of northern and western Iraq. Swift advances by the al-Qaeda splinter group have raised international fears that Iraq is falling apart and that the fighting makes room for the emergence of a regional militant enclave.