Iraqi security forces on Tuesday retook a town next to the militant-held city of Tikrit as they pressed their offensive against Islamic State militants, two military officials said.
The Iraqi forces entered Alam early in the morning and hours later gained full control of the town adjacent to Tikrit, the two Iraqi officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to reporters, AP said.
The battle for Saddam Hussein’s hometown is a key test for the Iraqi forces as they struggle to win back some of the Islamic State group’s biggest strongholds in Iraq.
Tikrit, Salahuddin’s provincial capital that lies about 130 kilometers north of Baghdad, fell to the IS extremists last summer, along with Iraq’s second largest city, Mosul, and other areas in the country’s Sunni heartland.
