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Iraq PM Declares Victory In Battle For Tikrit

Iraq PM Declares Victory In Battle For Tikrit

Iraq's prime minister has declared victory in the weeks-long battle to retake the key city of Tikrit from Islamic State.

Haider al-Abadi used Twitter to announce what he called "the liberation of Tikrit" and congratulated Iraqi security forces and volunteer Shia fighters on "the historic milestone".

A spokesman for the prime minister added: "Iraqi forces reached the centre of Tikrit, raised the Iraqi flag and are now clearing the city."

Islamic State extremists seized the hometown of former president Saddam Hussein last summer, as part of the group's rapid advance across the north and west of the country.

The Iraqi interior ministry claimed at least 40 militants were killed on Tuesday as security forces cleared a government compound, security headquarters and Saddam's presidential palace.

The current operation to retake Tikrit began in early March, as troops and Shia volunteers moved in to capture nearby towns and surround the city itself, backed by air strikes from the US-led international coalition.

Forces are now working to remove roadside bombs and makeshift explosives left behind by the Sunni extremists.

Wresting control of Tikrit from Islamic State is an important step towards the Iraqi military ultimately retaking the country's second largest city Mosul, which was also taken by the terror group last June.