Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said on Tuesday that units of government forces, backed by Shia and Sunni volunteer forces, had managed to retake control of the city.
Later in the day, Iran�s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham congratulated the courageous victory by Iraq�s army and popular and tribal forces in Salahuddin province, and the cleansing of the city and�other important areas in the province of Takfiri terrorists.
�The recent victories are considered a landmark in the process of fighting terrorism in the country and herald the cleansing of Iraq�s other areas in near future,� she said.
�The Islamic Republic of Iran has placed atop its agenda its effective�and unconditional support for the Iraqi government and people in confronting organized and Takfiri terrorism,� Afkham noted.
In his announcement, Abadi said Iraqi forces had raised the country�s national flag over the Salahuddin provincial government headquarters.
Iraqi government forces keep watch from a position on the southern outskirts of the northern city of Tikrit on March 30, 2015 during a military operation to retake the city from ISIL militants. (AFP photo)Tikrit had been seized by ISIL in June last year. The city�s recapture is crucial for the Iraqi army in its quest to take control of the country�s second-largest city, Mosul.ISIL started its campaign of terror in Iraq in early June 2014. The heavily-armed militants took control of the country�s northern city of Mosul before sweeping through parts of the country�s Sunni Arab heartland.
Iraqi soldiers, police units, Kurdish forces, Shia volunteers and Sunni tribesmen have succeeded in driving the ISIL terrorists out of some areas in Iraq.
By Press TV
