Minister says Iraq halts Tikrit operation to avoid losses
 

https://s.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/XZ...f6d40ed156.jpgIraqi forces have halted a massive operation to retake the city of Tikrit from the Islamic State group to avoid casualties and protect infrastructure, Interior Minister Mohammed Ghabban said Monday. "What remains today is a very small part and it is the centre of the city of Tikrit," Ghabban said at a news conference in Samarra, **rth of Baghdad. Ghabban's assertion that most of the city has been retaken is also called into question by the fact that pro-government forces were still fighting to retake the Qadisiyah area in **rth Tikrit at the weekend. The Islamic State group, which overran large areas **rth and west of Baghdad last year, has littered Tikrit with bombs, rigged houses with explosives and built other defences such as trenches and dirt barriers, ******rs say.




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