Tikrit, Iraq---Iraq vowed Wednesday to reclaim the entire country from jihadists after retaking Tikrit from the Islamic State group, as its forces fought to consolidate control of the city.
Speaking from a newly-recaptured area of central Tikrit after a month-long operation that was Baghdad's biggest success yet against IS, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said the government was "determined to liberate every inch of Iraqi land".
But Tikrit is far from secure, with various officials saying that IS militants were still present in the city, while bomb-rigged houses and buildings also pose a major threat.
Interior Minister Mohammed al-Ghaban told journalists in Tikrit that there were "a few pockets (of IS fighters) remaining in some of the neighbourhoods".
And a commander from the Ketaeb Imam Ali militia, one of the paramilitary forces fighting alongside police and soldiers, reported clashes with IS in the city's north in the morning.
They "tried to advance on the university", Rasul al-Abadi told AFP, referring to Tikrit University on the northern edge of the city that has served as a base for pro-government forces.
Ghaban said IS fighters were trying to cross the Tigris river, east of the city, to escape.
Supporting that assertion, a paramilitary commander said the jihadists launched an attack Wednesday from a mountain hideout northeast of Tikrit in an attempt to open a safe passage for fleeing militants.
There has been concern that Iraq does not have enough specialised ordnance clearance teams to handle the large quantity of traps left by IS fighters.
- Explosions, looting -
Ghaban said security forces had so far found 185 rigged houses and about 900 other bombs.
Exploding bombs periodically sent clouds of dust rising over Tikrit, apparently detonated intentionally by forces working to clear the city.
One militiaman said he fired a rocket-propelled grenade to dispose of a suspected car bomb in central Tikrit.
Columns of black smoke rose from various burning houses and buildings in the city.
Some of the dozens of palaces in dictator Saddam Hussein's massive complex on the eastern side of the city were smashed by shelling or air strikes, but other areas of Tikrit were comparatively lightly damaged.
Militiamen have quickly set about spray painting the names of their groups on walls and windows, and also looted items including clothes, shampoo and shaving cream from shops in central Tikrit.
There is still evidence of IS's almost 10-month presence in the city, including the group's black flag painted on walls and writing identifying some buildings as "properties" of the jihadists' self-declared state.
AFP
