TOPSHOTS Iraqi pro-government forces sit on armoured personnel carrier (APC) driving near the Al-Alam village, northeast of the multi-ethnic city of Tikrit, on March 8, 2015, during a military operation to regain control of the Tikrit area from the Islamic State (IS) group. After being forced out of the province of Diyala earlier this year, the jihadists are now fighting off a huge assault on the city of Tikrit as government and allied forces continue to work their way north towards the main IS stronghold of Mosul. AFP PHOTO / YOUNIS AL-BAYATI