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Iraqi fighters of the government-controlled Popular Mobilization units take part in a military operation to retake Tikrit from ISIS militants, March 11, 2015. Getty

Last Updated Mar 11, 2015 10:29 AM EDT

BAGHDAD -- Iraqi soldiers and allied Shiite militiamen swept into the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) held northern city of Tikrit on Wednesday, launching a two-front offensive to squeeze extremists out of Saddam Hussein's hometown in a major test of the troops' resolve.

Explosions and heavy gunfire echoed through Tikrit, a key way station for Iraqi forces trying to expel the militants who hold roughly a third of the country and neighboring Syria. The battle also will serve as a major crucible for Iraqi forces, which collapsed under the extremists' initial offensive last year and now face street-by-street fighting in one of the Islamic State group's biggest strongholds.

According to the Reuters news agency, the office of Salahuddin province governor Raed al-Jubouri said in a statement that "half of Qadisiya district, the largest of Tikrit's neighbourhoods" had been secured by the Iraqi troops and their Iranian-backed Shiite allies.

Officials quickly established a supply line through the neighborhood to reinforce troops, Salahuddin police Brig. Kheyon Rasheed told the state-run Iraqiyya television. Authorities offered no immediate casualty figures, though Iran's state-run, English-language Press TV satellite channel reported that a mortar attack wounded one of its cameramen there.

A local official in Iraq's Salahuddin province confirmed that Iraqi troops entered Qadisiyya, and penetrated the northern suburbs, raising the Iraqi flag over Tikrit's general hospital. He spoke on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to brief journalists.

Later Wednesday, allied forces also swept into Tikrit from the south in a pincer movement to squeeze out militants, though some suggested many already fled in the face of the advance.

"The terrorists are seizing the cars of civilians trying to leave the city and they are trying to make a getaway," Rasheed said.

The government and allied forces have been closing in on Tikrit for days, capturing the town of Alam on its outskirts Tuesday and sealing off ISIS in preparation to confront the extremists in one of their biggest strongholds, officials said.

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Iraq claims first push into ISIS-held Tikrit