Dozens of military vehicles, backed by tanks, armored vehicles and helicopter gunships advanced in the early morning from four routes towards the city of Tikrit, some 170 km north of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, a security source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.
The main route of the troops was launched from the areas near the city of Samarra, some 50 km south of Tikrit, but the security forces were stopped by the militants in an area near the town of Dijla, some 25 km south of Tikrit, the source said, adding that the gunmen booby-trapped the buildings and all the roads leading to Tikrit to hamper the troops advance.
Iraqi aircraft carried out intensive air strikes in and around the city of Tikrit, targeting the posts of the militant, including those who are linked to the Islamic State in Iraq and Levant (ISIL), an al-Qaeda offshoot, the source said without giving further details, Xinhua reported.
On June 11, militant groups took control of the city of Tikrit when hundreds of gunmen entered the city during the advance of the militants.