Tikrit Iraq’s prime minister declared jihadi forces had been cleared from the centre of the city of Tikrit, just days after US-led aircraft joined a month-long fight for the provincial capital. In a televised appearance yesterday, Haider al-Abadi said fighters from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, or Isis, had been pushed out of the centre of the city after Iraqi troops launched a surprise attack followed six days of US-led bombing runs. “Our heroic forces reached the centre of Tikrit a short time ago and raised the Iraqi flag,” Mr Abadi said. “[They] are currently in the process of purging the rest of the areas of Daesh,” he added, using the Arabic acronym for Isis. Defeat in Tikrit, if confirmed, would represent a serious setback for Isis, which pushed from […]