Despite optimistic reports from Baghdad about the Iraqi army driving to the center of Tikrit, eyewitnesses say the army has now retreated and is regrouping in a city about 15 miles from Saddams former hometown. Fox News: Iraqi government forces have reportedly been forced to pull back from the northern city of Tikrit after an offensive to reclaim the city from Sunni Muslim militants was blunted by fierce fighting. The BBC, citing eyewitnesses, reported Sunday that the Iraqi army had fallen back to the town of Dijla, approximately 15 miles to the south. The witnesses said that the government forces' drive to retake Tikrit had been hampered in part my the large number of improvised explosive devices laid on the approach to the city. The witnesses said that security forces continued to shell the city, though what damage those shells may have done is unclear.  Iraqi officials had claimed that troops had pushed into the heart of the city in what was the biggest...(Read Full Post)