Iraqi forces push toward center of city held by ISIS
Iraqi forces are now inside Tikrit, pushing toward the center of the city from both the north and the south. The battle for Tikrit is a major test of Iraq's ability to defeat the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, CBS News' Holly Williams reports.
Just five miles south of Tikrit, al-Dour was retaken by Iraqi forces Monday after three days of intense street-to-street fighting.
This is the biggest Iraqi offensive against ISIS so far, and the fighters were in a triumphant mood.
Maj. Gen. Bahaa Al-Azawi said victory is certain.
"We insist to defeat them. We will follow them, to push them away from Iraq," he said.
Now Iraqi soldiers have fought their way into Tikrit, a city of a quarter of a million people where ISIS has been dug in since June.
ISIS is vastly outmanned by the Iraqi forces but is managing to slow them down with mines, booby traps and car bombs.
Iraq's army is still in disarray after being humiliated by ISIS last year.
Most of the fighters in the Tikrit offensive are Shiite Muslim militiamen and have close ties to Iran. They are being helped in this battle by Iranian officers, fueling fears in the U.S. of increasing Iranian influence in Iraq.
The Shiite militias are also accused of massacring more than 70 unarmed Sunni Muslim men in neighboring Diyala province.
Their commanders are adamant the same thing will not happen in Tikrit.
Iraq is trying to fight off ISIS, but it's doing so with an enormous burden -- the bloody religious divisions that still blight this country.