Iraqi forces launched an attack to drive Islamist militants from Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit, a senior Iraqi security force told NBC News on Tuesday. The Iraqi army is aiming to retake Tikrit from the control of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) with the support of the Iraqi air force, local tribesmen, and volunteers from a religious group called the AAH, which stands for Ada’ib Ahl Al-Haq. A military official also told Reuters that Iraqi troops were advancing slowly through the south in addition to U.S. airstrikes helping Iraqi and Kurdish forces to retake the strategic Mosul Dam from the militants on Monday.
