The birthplace of Iraq's former president Saddam Hussein could soon be liberated from Islamic State fighters.
They took over Tikrit last summer but now a senior militia leader says Shia volunteers are just days away from re-taking the city. It follows their recent victories in a number of nearby towns and villages.
These people in Al Alam, north-east of the city, say they're happy to be able to go home:
More than 20,000 Shia militiamen from different groups, many backed by Iran, are involved in the fight against IS. They make up what is known as the Popular Mobilisation Force. Around 5,000 Iraqi officers and soldiers are working with them.
The military operation In Tikrit is in its third week, but the militias still only control parts of the city. Hadi al Amiri heads up the Badr Brigade, one of Iraq's most effective fighting forces.
Seen by many as Iran's man on the ground, he told Sky News that dozens of Iranian advisors are helping take back territory from IS, and that Tikrit would be retaken within days.
He said: "We were victorious in Diyala, and we're using the same strategy here, as a result of a high degree of co-ordination between the army, the popular mobilisation forces and the police."
Tikrit will be a strategic and symbolic victory before the push northwards, but that will entail Shia militias controlling Sunni and mixed villages - putting Iraq's delicate sectarian balance to the ultimate test.
