伊拉克部队努力收复提克里特

Iraqi troops and militia fighters continued their offensive against the Islamic State group near Tikrit on Tuesday, as they try to recapture the city that fell to the militants last June.

Ground troops have been advancing on multiple fronts, but military commanders said their progress is being slowed by roadside bombs.

An estimated 30,000 members of Iraq's security forces, Shi'ite militias and Kurdish peshmerga fighters are taking part in the operation that also includes airstrikes from Iraq's air force.

A victory in Tikrit would be a geographic stepping stone for Iraqi forces to approach Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city that serves as a stronghold and nerve-center for the Islamic State group.

Tikrit is also the hometown of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, who was executed after his ouster in 2003.