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Iraq launched a military operation against Islamic State (IS) to recapture the city of Tikrit, which lies 150 kilometres north of the country’s capital Baghdad.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced the launch of the offensive late on Sunday, the BBC reports.
Prior to the announcement, al-Abadi had met military leaders in Salahuddin province, offering to pardon all Sunni tribal fighters, who abandoned IS.
Tikrit, which is the hometown of former President Saddam Hussein, was captured by the radical militants in June 2014.
The recapturing of Tikrit will be a major stimulus for the government forces ahead of the larger battle for regaining control of the city of Mosul.
Soldiers and allied Shia militiamen, aided by US-led coalition airstrikes, have started recapturing territory from IS north of Baghdad.
Meanwhile, Kurdish peshmerga forces are making advances around the city of Mosul.
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