Iraqi forces, allies push forward to take back Tikrit

TIKRIT, Iraq, March 12 (UPI) -- Iraqi government forces and allies took back control of 75 percent of Tikrit Thursday, leaving the remainder of the area, which includes Saddam Hussein's former palace, in the hands of the Islamic State.

The remaining 25 percent of the Iraqi city, located about 90 miles north of Baghdad, is under the control of about 150 IS fighters, the commander of the Hasd Al-Shaabi militia said. On Wednesday, joint Iraqi forces gained control of the Tikrit Military Hospital, located a few blocks from the palace formerly held by Hussein.

Some 23,000 military personnel are said to be involved in the operation in Tikrit, which fell to IS in June. The offensive began in early March with ground and air forces including local militia and a group of Sunni tribesmen.

Earlier this week, Gen. Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff, said he was confident the strike would succeed without U.S. involvement but was concerned about the safety of the city's large Sunni population once the fighting was over.

"There's no doubt... they're going to run [IS] out of Tikrit," he told a hearing of the Senate foreign relations committee. "The question is what comes after, in terms of their willingness to let Sunni families move back into their neighborhoods -- whether they work to restore the basic services that are going to be necessary, or whether it results in atrocities and retribution."