Iraqi forces fight IS militants, bombardment continues in Tikrit

Iraqi security forces on Saturday continued clashes with the Islamic State (IS) militants in the city of Tikrit, the capital of Salahudin province, leaving seven security members killed and 14 others wounded, provincial security sources said.

The troops started their slow advance on Friday in Tikrit's southern district of Shishin and northern district of Qadsiyah as well as in Dyoum area in western part of the besieged city, after the U.S.-led coalition and Iraqi aircraft carried out airstrikes on the IS positions inside the city, which were located some 170 km north of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

The troops' advance stopped in the evening by fierce clashes and dozens of roadside bombs, landmines and booby-trapped houses, while sporadic clashes continued overnight and on Saturday at the edges of the city, leaving at least seven soldiers and allied militiamen killed and 14 others wounded during the past 24 hours, the source said.

Another security source told Xinhua that the number of international airstrikes have decreased to about five since Friday evening, but the army artillery, mortars and rockets continued shelling the IS defensives.

Meanwhile, the Iraqi federal police forces were deployed on the east bank of Tigris River, that bisects Tikrit city, to prevent the IS militants from escaping the battlefields in the western bank, the source said.

Separately, the IS militants carried out an attack on Iraqi forces at Allas oil field in Himreen area in eastern the province and managed to seize part of the oilfield, and set fire into two oil wells, the source said.

Flames and plumes of black smoke rose above the area, while reinforcement troops from the security forces and allied Shiite and Sunni militias arrived at the scene, the source added.

Late on Wednesday, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced that the Iraqi forces started the final phase to liberate Tikrit and the rest of the northern parts of Salahudin province with the assistance of the international coalition air support.

The battles to free Tikrit from IS militants have been stalled for about two weeks as the militants planted thousands of bombs and booby-trapped dozens of buildings and cars.

Since March 2, some 30,000 Iraqi troops and thousands of allied Shiite and Sunni militias have been involved in Iraq's biggest offensive to recapture the northern part of Salahudin province, including Tikrit and other key towns and villages, from IS militants.

Large parts of the province have been under IS control since June 2014, after bloody clashes broke out between Iraqi security forces and the group.

The IS has taken control of the country's northern city of Mosul and later seized swathes of territories in Nineveh and other predominantly Sunni provinces. Endit