Iraq forces say won't be rushed into final Tikrit assault

Iraqi commanders said Thursday that time was on their side as government forces tighten their siege of Tikrit and warned they would not be rushed into a final assault. Since the operation to retake Tikrit from the Islamic State group was launched at the start of the month, thousands of troops and militia have reconquered the land around the city. On Wednesday, they moved deep into Tikrit's sprawling northern district of Qadisiyah and closed in on the few hundred jihadist fighters holed up in the city centre. "We don't want to be rushed because we want to avoid casualties," he told AFP in Albu Ajil, a village from which Tikrit can be seen across the Tigris river.

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