(27 Mar 2015) FOR CLEAN VERSION SEE STORY NUMBER: 2052636
Iraqi forces continued fighting Islamic State (IS) militants on Friday in the northern Iraqi city of Tikrit as part of the final phase of an offensive to recapture Saddam Hussein's hometown from the extremists.
Iraqi helicopters as well as soldiers atop several military vehicles were seen firing machine guns and multiple rocket launchers toward targets in the city.
Plumes of smoke could be seen billowing high into the sky from structures in the distance.
The final push in the battle to drive IS from the city, however, is going ahead without the country's Iran-backed Shiite militias, which had been instrumental to the operation so far and which backed out in protest over the US involvement in the fight for Tikrit.
On Wednesday, the US began airstrikes in Tikrit in support of what it called a "stalled" Iraqi ground offensive to retake the city.
The US initially did not provide air support in Tikrit because Baghdad pointedly chose instead to partner with Iran in a battle it predicted would yield a quick victory.
The bombing marked a significant expansion of the US military role in Iraq.
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