TIKRIT, Iraq, April 1 (UPI) -- Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi officially declared victory Wednesday in Tikrit, though booby traps and some Islamic State militants still remain.
The strategic city of 260,000, located 86 miles from the Iraqi capital of Baghdad and on the road between Baghdad and Mosul, has been the site of fighting since March. 2 between IS forces, a coalition of Iraqi troops, police, Iranian Shiite militia groups and Sunni tribal members.