This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-31689433
The article has changed 14 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Iraq launches Tikrit operation against Islamic State | Iraq launches Tikrit operation against Islamic State |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Iraq has launched a military operation to recapture Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit from Islamic State (IS), Iraqi TV says. | Iraq has launched a military operation to recapture Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit from Islamic State (IS), Iraqi TV says. |
| Local media reported that forces were attacking the city, backed by airstrikes from Iraqi fighter jets. | Local media reported that forces were attacking the city, backed by airstrikes from Iraqi fighter jets. |
| Tikrit lies 150km (95 miles) north of the capital Baghdad and was seized by IS militants in June 2014. | Tikrit lies 150km (95 miles) north of the capital Baghdad and was seized by IS militants in June 2014. |
| Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi earlier met military leaders in Salahuddin province, ahead of the advance. | Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi earlier met military leaders in Salahuddin province, ahead of the advance. |
| He offered to pardon all Sunni tribal fighters who abandoned IS, describing it as a "last chance". | |
| Al-Iraqiya TV said that IS militants had been dislodged from some areas outside Tikrit but this has not been confirmed. | Al-Iraqiya TV said that IS militants had been dislodged from some areas outside Tikrit but this has not been confirmed. |
| The militants hold several areas of Salahuddin, a predominantly Sunni Muslim province. | |
| Tikrit, hometown of former President Saddam Hussein, was the second major gain for IS after the group captured the city of Mosul in June last year. | |
| Mosul was home to more than a million people when it fell to IS after the militants launched an offensive in northern Iraq that saw it seize large swathes of the country. | |
| Soldiers and allied Shia militiamen have now begun to recapture territory from IS north of Baghdad, with the help of US-led coalition air strikes. | |
| At the same time, Kurdish peshmerga forces have been making advances around Mosul. | |
| In February, Mr al-Abadi said that Iraqi armed forces would be launching a major offensive "in a few months' time" to retake the city from IS militants. |