AFP
TIKRIT, APRIL 1
Iraqi forces battled the last jihadists in Tikrit on Wednesday to seal a victory the government described as a milestone in efforts to rid the country of the Islamic State group. Iraqi fighters picked their way through the rubble-strewn streets of the city, wary of any last-ditch attack from diehard IS fighters and of the thousands of bombs they left behind.
A major military push saw Iraqi police and allied forces retake the city centre on Tuesday but pockets of jihadist militants remained. A top leader in the Badr organisation, one of the most prominent Shiite militias in Iraq, admitted that Tikrit had not been completely purged of jihadist fighters.
"Snipers are still there and many buildings are booby-trapped," Karim al-Nuri told AFP in the northern Tikrit neighbourhood of Qadisiya.
A commander for the Ketaeb Imam Ali militia said his men were involved in a firefight in the north of the city as late as 11:00 am (0800 GMT).
They "tried to advance on the university," Rasul al-Abadi told AFP, adding that there were "no more than 30" IS fighters left in the city's vast northern district of Qadisiya.
"The Iraqi security forces control 95 percent of the city, there are sporadic clashes," said an army lieutenant colonel from Salaheddin province, of which Tikrit is the capital.
An official from the governor's office said municipal teams were already at work in some reconquered neighbourhoods, cleaning debris and restoring power.
- Mosul planning -
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi claimed the city was liberated but the US-led coalition that has been helping Baghdad from the air said there was "still work to be done".
After fighters replaced the black jihadist flag on the provincial headquarters with Iraq's tricolour Tuesday, Abadi hailed the reconquest of Tikrit as a "historic milestone".
A paramilitary commander said IS fighters launched an attack from a mountain hideout northeast of Tikrit Wednesday in an attempt to open a safe passage to the town of Hawija for fleeing militants.
Iraq's top brass was already training its sights on Mosul, which jihadist fighters seized from the government at the same time as Tikrit in June last year.
"This victory is only a new starting point from which to launch the operation to liberate Nineveh province," the defence ministry said Tuesday after a meeting of top commanders.
