Iraqi Shiite fighters of the government-controlled Popular Mobilisation units stand with their weapons in a suburb west of the city of Tikrit on March 12, 2015 during a military operation to retake the city from the Islamic state (IS) group. Thousands of Iraqi troops and militiamen laid siege to jihadist fighters holed up in Tikrit, wary of rushing into streets littered with bombs and infested with snipers. Tikrit, the capital Salaheddin province, is located 160 kms north of Baghdad. AFP PHOTO / AHMAD AL-RUBAYE (Photo credit should read AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP/Getty Images)
