Iraq poised for final Tikrit assault

Iraqi forces yesterday plotted ways of flushing out die-hard jihadists from central Tikrit, which one commander predicted would be liberated within three days.

Fighters from the Islamic State group are massively outnumbered and completely boxed in but they are protected by the thousands of bombs they planted across the city.

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The broad alliance of fighting forces battling ISIS in the region is keen to minimise casualties on their way to what would be their biggest victory yet against the jihadists.

Karim al-Nuri, a top leader from the Badr militia and the spokesman of the volunteer Popular Mobilisation units, said it would take no more than "72 hours" to liberate Tikrit.

The last ISIS fighters holed up in the city centre were "surrounded from all sides", Nuri said.

Speaking to AFP from the outskirts of Tikrit, near the village of Awja, he said "their number is now 60 to 70".

AFP reporters in a northern neighbourhood of Tikrit saw dozens of craters on a single street, caused by the explosion of bombs concealed underneath.

There was no evidence of intense fighting yesterday, after another day that saw Iraqi forces strike ISIS from above -- with artillery, jets and gunships -- but make little headway on the ground.

Army troops, police units, Popular Mobilisation units, Shia militia groups as well as Sunni fighters eager to retake their own city launched a huge assault nearly two weeks ago.

They first cleared outlying areas in Salaheddin province, of which Tikrit is the capital, and broke the city's defences on Wednesday.

Tikrit is the hometown of former president Saddam Hussein, the remnants of whose Baath party collaborated with ISIS militants when they swept across Iraq's Sunni heartland nine months ago.

Military coordination was improved, the cooperation of some Sunni tribesmen was secured and Iran is said to have played a key role in the operation's planning and execution.

The outcome of the battle of Tikrit, seen by commanders as a key stepping stone on the way to reconquering ISIS' northern hub of Mosul, seems in little doubt but there is more at stake for the government than just territorial gain.