Iraq started a military operation to recapture Tikrit, the hometown of Saddam Hussein Iraq's former leader, from the Islamic State (IS) and its allies. Militia and troops are known to be attacking on different strategies, backed by air strikes from Iraqi fighter jets.
The government disclosed that its armies are advancing to the city area however no confirmation has been claimed as of yet. Iran's General Qasem Soleimani is also taking part in the operation as well. General Soleimani is the commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards' overseas operation arm, the Quds Force, according to BBC News.
Iraqi efforts are doubled on trying to retake the city of Tikrit from the ISIS group, even uniting Shiite and Sunni fighters in the mission.
The Iraqi soldiers together with the Shiite and Sunni militiamen, strike the ISIS group within the area on Monday. This is a part of a wide scale offensive on Sunday which was ordered by Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, CNN reported.
On June2014, Tikrit fell to ISIS for the first time just after the group's capture of Iraq's second largest city, Mosul.
ISIS, the radical Sunni militant group, has been on a lethal campaign to establish a caliphate across areas of Iraq and Syria.
Tikrit is about 150km (95 miles) northern part of Baghdad.
Gen Soleimani has been believed to be visiting the front lines north of the capital on a couple of times. Tehran says it has only sent troops to remind the Iraqi security forces' personnel, Shia militiamen and Kurdish Peshmerga fighters.