Iraq’s armed forces, backed by Shi’ite militia, attacked Islamic State (IS) strongholds north of Baghdad yesterday as they launched an offensive to retake the city of Tikrit and the surrounding Sunni Muslim province of Salahuddin.

Iraqi security forces, backed by allied Shia and Sunni fighters, have begun a large-scale military operation to recapture Saddam Hussein’s hometown of Tikrit from Islamic State, state TV said.