Iraq fights for Tikrit

Witnesses on Saturday said government troops were massing near Tikrit, the hometown of the late dictator Saddam Hussein, in a bid to recapture it from insurgents led by the jihadist group Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

"A large military operation started today to clear Tikrit of ISIS," said Staff Lieutenant General Sabah Fatlawi.

Tikrit residents spoke of clashes in the city on Saturday, but the extent of the fighting was unclear.

One resident said militants are still patrolling the city. Another said residents had fled ahead of anticipated clashes, adding that the city had been with power and water since Friday.

The northern Iraqi city was overrun by ISIS more than two weeks ago.

On Thursday, government helicopter gunships began airstrikes in Tikrit against the Sunni ISIS insurgents who then fought soldiers at an advance base on a university campus on the city's northern outskirts, according to the military.

More troops were ferried into the campus early on Friday morning.

Growing bloodshed

In a blitz operation in recent weeks the ISIS also captured Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city, along with a swathe of northern and north-central Iraq.

The government has repeatedly vowed to "liberate" the areas controlled by ISIS militants.

Iraq has seen increasing violence over the past year, much of it blamed on ISIS. Analysts say the bloodshed is largely rooted in Sunni disaffection with the country's Shiite-led government under Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

A security crackdown by the government has further alienated the Sunni minority from which ISIS and other rebel groups draw their support.

Top cleric's plea

Top Shiite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, who is a revered figure for many of Iraq's majority Shiites, has meanwhile called on Iraqi leaders to unite and form a new government to help stem the Sunni militant advance.

Sistani urged politicians to agree on the next prime minister, parliament speaker and president by the time the new legislature meets on Tuesday, said a cleric who represents Sistani during a Friday sermon.

Maliki personally won the most votes in April elections, and his State of Law bloc won the most seats by far, but he failed to gain the majority needed to govern alone, which seems likely to lead to arduous coalition negotiations.

Chinese workers evacuated

In a further sign of Iraq's turmoil, China's news agency Xinhua said Saturday that more than 1,200 Chinese workers who were trapped in Samarra - near Tikrit - have been evacuated to Baghdad,

Xinhua said the Iraqi military providing security.

tj/ipj (AFP, dpa, AP)