Members of the Iraqi security forces are heading from Samarra city to Tikrit to launch an assault against the ISIL militants on February 28, 2015. AFP[/caption]The Iraqi army, backed by volunteer forces, continues to make advancements in its fight against the ISIL Takfiri terrorists to liberate Salahuddin Provinces city of Tikrit, Press TV reports.
Iraqi forces startedtheir attacks onal-Alam area from the northeast of Tikrit.
The advances are going very well. We are now standing here waiting for the attack on al-Alam to start. All the territory that we have passed were liberated in two days only. Today we are planning to clean Kirkuk and Salahuddin from terrorists, together, said leader of the Badr Organization, Hadi al-Amiri.
The attacks were carried out on ISIL hideouts to pave the way for ground forces to advance.
The Iraqi army is aiming to reach al-Alam and al-Dor, and then secure the al-Fatha area, in order to cut ISIL supplies and prevent the militants from fleeing to Mosul.
The ISIL militants have suffered great losses in recent days since the Iraqi army launched its operation to free Tikrit on March 2.
The army has already liberated a number of neighborhoods in the area.
According to the United Nations, the violence in and near Tikrit has resulted in the displacement of some 28,000 people.
The crisis in Iraq escalated after the ISIL terrorists fighting in Syria took control of Mosul last June, which was followed by the fall of Tikrit, located 140 kilometers (87 miles) northwest of the capital, Baghdad.
The violence in Iraq has left at least 12,000 civilians dead and more than 23,000 people injured in 2014 alone as a result of the violence perpetrated by the ISIL Takfiris.
By Press TV
