A police lieutenant colonel said security forces on Thursday clashed with militants near Tikrit, the hometown of Saddam Hussein, which they have been unsuccessfully fighting to retake in a highly-touted operation for over a week.
The cost of the conflict has been high for Iraq’s forces, with nearly 900 security personnel among 2,400 people killed in June, the highest figure in years, according to the United Nations.
The day before, Salaheddin province’s governor, Ahmed Abdullah Juburi, said security forces were “advancing slowly because all of the houses and burned vehicles (en route to Tikrit) have been rigged with explosives, and militants have deployed lots of roadside bombs and car bombs.”
Juburi said it would be days before security forces could make a concerted push into the city, the capital of Salaheddin province.
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