Iraq launches major assault to retake Tikrit from IS

Iraqi government forces and allied militias fire weaponry from a position in the northern part of Diyala province, bordering Salaheddin province, as they take part in an assault to retake the city of Tikrit from jihadists of the Islamic State (IS) group, yesterday. Some 30,000 Iraqi troops and militia backed by aircraft pounded jihadists in and around Tikrit in the biggest offensive yet to retake one of the Islamic State group's main strongholds. Iraqi forces tried and failed several times to wrest back Tikrit, a Sunni Arab city on the Tigris river about 160 kilometres (100 miles) north of Baghdad. (AFP)