Iraqi soldiers fire artillery during clashes with Sunni militant group Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in the town of Jurf al-Sakhar, south of Baghdad June 30, 2014.
Iraq's army launched an assault on Tuesday morning to try to retake the militant-held northern Iraqi city of Tikrit, an officer and a soldier involved in the attack told Reuters.
The attempt to retake Tikrit, which fell on June 12 to Sunni insurgents led by the extremist Islamic State group, began two-and-a-half weeks ago. The army has been saying for two weeks that its forces are on the outskirts of the city.
© Thomson Reuters 2014