In New Show of Force, Iraqi Army Drives Back Insurgents in Major City

Baghdad:  The Iraqi army on Saturday drove insurgents from the center of a major city in central Iraq, for the first time mounting a concerted assault against insurgents who had charged to within 50 miles of Baghdad.

Independent sources, including local officials and witnesses, confirmed that an Iraqi army counteroffensive had driven militants of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, or ISIL, from the center of Tikrit, including from government buildings as well as from major roads and other positions throughout the city.

But fighting was still continuing, with Iraqi war planes bombing targets inside the city late in the afternoon.

NY Times