Rockets and mortars are echoing across Tikrit as Iraqi security forces clash with Islamic State militants in the Sunni city north of Baghdad. Recapturing Tikrit, Saddam Hussein's hometown, is seen as a key step toward rolling back the extremist group, which controls a third of Syria and Iraq. Iraqi troops and allied Shia militiamen entered Tikrit for the first time Wednesday from the north and south. The head of the military operation on Thursday told The Associated Press that troops would launch phase two of the offensive later in the day as they try to reach the city center. He spoke anonymously as he's not authorized to brief the media. The Islamic State group captured Tikrit in June as part of its lightening advance across northern Iraq. http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/125043.aspx
