Battle With IS Group For Iraq's Tikrit ‘Has Displaced Thousands’

Military operations aimed at retaking the Iraqi city of Tikrit from the Islamic State jihadist group have caused as many as 28,000 people to flee south to Samarra, the United Nations said on Thursday.

"Field reports indicate that additional displacements are underway and that yet more families remain stuck at checkpoints," a UN statement said.

Some 30,000 members of the Iraqi security forces and allied fighters launched an operation to retake Tikrit on Monday, the largest of its kind since Islamic State (IS) group forces overran swathes of territory last June.

Retaking Tikrit, the hometown of now-executed Iraqi president Saddam Hussein, from militants who have had over eight months to dig in poses a major challenge for the country's forces.

Sectarian-fuelled revenge killings targeting Sunni Arabs have been a feature of past operations involving Shiite militias, raising concerns that the same may happen in Tikrit.

(BALOOGG'SBLOG FRANCE with AFP)