By Raheem Salman and Ned Parker BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Iraqi government forces backed by helicopter gunships began an offensive on Saturday to retake the northern city of Tikrit from Sunni Islamist militants while party leaders pursued talks that could end Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's divisive rule. Politicians in Baghdad and world powers warn that unless security forces recover cities lost to the jihadi insurgents in tandem with a rapid formation of a government that can bring Iraq's estranged communities together, the country could rip apart along sectarian lines and menace the wider Middle East. On the battlefield, Iraqi troops were trying to advance on Tikrit from the direction of Samarra to the south that has become the military's line in the sand against a militant advance southwards towards Baghdad. Iraqi special forces already have snipers inside Tikrit University who were dropped by air there in a bold operation on Thursday.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/iraqs-top-shiite-cleric-calls-prime-minister-chosen-021059402.html

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