Iraq's army storms Tikrit, retakes official buildings

The Iraqi army Tuesday stormed Tikrit, the largest town in the Salah-Eddin governorate, north of Baghdad, and retook many government buildings there amid ongoing violent clashes.
A security source in the Salah-Eddin Operations Command told the Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) that the army and elite forces, supported by Air Force, launched today operation "Sharp Sword" aiming to seize Tikrit from the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
He added that the Iraqi forces stormed the city from the south and managed to restore control over various areas and also seized government buildings, including the Police Academy, the Tikrit Public Hospital and the cultural centre.
They also entered from the north and west aiming to tighten the grab on ISIL and prevent routes of its supplies.
According to the security source, the southern part of the city is totally under control of the Iraqi army which is now moving to the centre of the city.
Meanwhile, the Iraqi official TV said that the army had reached the presidential palaces complex in Tikrit where they raised the Iraqi flag. It also seized control of the municipal council.
In a related development, the Iraqi forces, supported by tribal fighters, liberated the Deloya city, south of Tikrit from the ISIL fighters who controlled it over the past two days.