Iraq vowed today to reclaim the entire country from jihadists after retaking the city of Tikrit in its biggest success yet in the fight against the Islamic State group.
Speaking from a newly-recaptured area of central Tikrit after a month-long operation, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said the government was "determined to liberate every inch of Iraqi land".
But Tikrit is far from secure, with various officials saying that IS militants were still present in the city, while bomb-rigged houses and buildings also pose a major threat.
Interior Minister Mohammed al-Ghaban told journalists in Tikrit that there were "a few pockets (of IS fighters) remaining in some of the neighbourhoods."
And a commander from the Ketaeb Imam Ali militia, one of the paramilitary forces fighting alongside police and soldiers, reported clashes with IS in the city's north in the morning.
They "tried to advance on the university", Rasul al-Abadi told AFP, adding that there were "no more than 30" IS fighters left in the city's large Qadisiya district.
Ghaban said IS fighters were trying to cross the Tigris river, east of the city, to escape.
Supporting that assertion, a paramilitary commander said the jihadists launched an attack today from a mountain hideout northeast of Tikrit in an attempt to open a safe passage for fleeing militants.
There has been concern that Iraq does not have enough specialised ordnance clearance teams to handle the large quantity of traps left by IS fighters.
