Iraqi forces advance toward Tirkit amid major offensive Iraqi government forces were advancing on Monday in the province of Salaheddin, on the outskirts of the northern city of Tikrit, as part of a military operation to take control of the city from Islamic State (IS) group fighters. Some 30,000 Iraqi soldiers, police, and the increasingly influential paramilitary Popular Mobilisation units, which are dominated by Shiite militias, have been involved in a week-old operation to recapture Tikrit, one of the jihadists' main hubs since they overran large parts of Iraq nine months ago. IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES