Iraqi soldiers and the Shia al-Hashed al-Shabi militia have speed up the operations against the ISIS gangs in Tikrit. Iraqi military forces have the upper hand during the ongoing fighting, according to the reports.

Having taken the Kadisiye area in the northern side of Tikrit under their control, Iraqi military forces and the militia are struggling to take the control of the city centre in street clashes. Within the operation which is already continuing for around 2 weeks, military forces affiliated to the central Iraqi government are facing serious resistance in the ISIS controlled Tikrit town, the birthplace of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. The reporters on the ground say that ISIS gangs are using chlorine gas against the Iraqi forces.

In the meantime, the ISIS gangs attacking from many directions with an aim to interrupt the Tikrit operation have launched 7 separate attacks on the military plants in the city of Ramadi town controlled by the central Iraqi government. The attacks which were carried out with bomb-laden vehicles left many dead, reports of Iraqi military sources say.
The international coalition providing air support to Iraqi and South Kurdistan forces has bombarded the emplacements of the ISIS gangs around Felluce, Kirkuk and Mosul in the last two days.

In the meantime Kurdistan military forces that are intensfying their attacks are continuing to advance towards Hewîce district of Kirkuk to the north of Tikrit.

Many villages around Hewîce have been taken under control by Kurdish forces which also include HPG/YJA Star guerrillas. The Kurdish forces call on the local people to cooperate with the Kurdish forces against the ISIS gangs as clashes intensify around Hewîce.

Celal Şêx Nacî, the person responsible for peshmerga intelligence, said the ISIS gangs continue to suffer losses and defeats in the villages around Hewîce and added that the high ranked members of ISIS in the area have started to send their families to Mosul for security reasons. Celal Şêx Nacî remarked that the ISIS gangs are losing determination to fight and that many villages are likely to be liberated soon.

Celal Şêx Nacî further stressed that they will protect all the inhabitants in Hiwêce, Reshad and Zap regions, adding that the cooperation of Hewîce people with the Kurdish forces is for their own advantage.

Şêx Nacî also urged on Hewice administrators who are in cooperation with the ISIS gangs to stop this cooperation as well as calling on the people who are acting together with the ISIS gangs but have yet not taken part in the killings to give up their arms and to return their houses.

In the meantime it has been reported that the air strikes launched before the operation of Kurdistan forces around Kirkuk on Monday proved to be effective. A large number of villages were liberated from the ISIS gangs in the operation.