Iraqi forces continued battling Islamic State fighters in the Iraqi city of Tikrit on Wednesday in a bid to finish their weeks-long effort to retake the area that the militants have controlled since June.

Interior Minister Mohammed Salem al-Ghabban said the Iraqi troops were working to clear the last remaining pockets of militants.

That assessment came a day after Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi congratulated the Iraqi forces on what he called a “historic milestone.”

A member of Iraq’s parliament, Abdul Bari Zebari, also told VOA that Iraqi forces had taken the major areas in Tikrit, and that the northern Iraqi city was under Iraqi military control.

“It’s just a matter of cleaning what’s left from their mess,” Zebari said of the Islamic State fighters. “In the military, until you completely control it, and you clean all of whatever is left, then it will be the final declaration of victory.”

At the Pentagon, a spokesman on Tuesday told VOA the U.S.-led coalition welcomed the news that Iraqi forces were in control of central Tikrit, but she noted that other areas of Tikrit remained under IS control and there was still more fighting to be done.

Iraqi special forces backed by U.S.-led coalition airstrikes began advancing on central Tikrit last week after days of a stalled offensive.
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