On two fronts, Iraqi forces battle Islamic State for Tikrit

TIKRIT, Iraq -- Iraqi troops clashed along two fronts with Islamic State militants Thursday in Tikrit as rockets and mortars echoed across Saddam Hussein's hometown a day after soldiers and allied Shiite militiamen swept into this Sunni city north of Baghdad.

Recapturing Tikrit is seen as a key step toward rolling back the gains of the extremist Islamic State group, which seized much of northern and western Iraq in a blitz last summer and now controls about a third of both Iraq and Syria.

The offensive also will serve as a major crucible for Iraqi forces, which collapsed under the extremists' initial offensive last year and now face one of the Sunni militant group's biggest strongholds.

Iraqi forces entered Tikrit for the first time on Wednesday from the north and south. On Thursday, they were fighting their way through the city and expected to reach the center within three to four days, according to Lt. General Abdul-Wahab al-Saadi, the commander of the Tikrit operation.

The IS militants were trying to repel the Iraqi forces with snipers, suicide car bombs, heavy machine guns and mortars, al-Saadi said.

Tikrit, the capital of Salahuddin province, sits on the Tigris River about 80 miles north of Baghdad. Several of Saddam's palaces remain there, and supporters of the deceased dictator are believed to have played a key role in the Islamic State group's seizure of the city last year.

Iraqi Defense Minister Khaled al-Obeidi, who was also at the front line on Thursday, said the operation to retake Tikrit is "essential to opening a corridor for security forces to move from the south to Mosul," he said, referring to Iraq's second-largest city and the militants' biggest stronghold.

He described the operation as "100 percent Iraqi, from the air and ground."

When the Islamic State last year swept into Mosul, the U.S.-trained Iraqi military crumbled and the militants seized tanks, missile launchers and ammunition, steamrolling across northern Iraq.

The CIA estimates the Sunni militant group has access to between 20,000 and 31,000 fighters in Iraq and Syria.

Military officials believe there may be about 150 foreign fighters with the IS inside Tikrit, including fighters from Chechnya and the Arab Gulf countries.

Iraqi officials now say at least 30,000 men -- including the military, militias, Sunni tribes and police -- are fighting to capture Tikrit.

U.S. Gen. Martin Dempsey, the Joint Chiefs chairman, said Wednesday at least 20,000 militiamen are taking part in the Tikrit fighting.