Thousands of Iraqi forces have laid siege to jihadists holed up in Tikrit but the Islamic State group shrugged off setbacks by welcoming Nigeria's Boko Haram group into its "caliphate".
After making major gains in and around the city on Wednesday, commanders were confident that Baghdad's biggest victory yet against IS was only a matter of time.
"Now we are moving to the second phase of our plan," Defence Minister Khaled al-Obeidi told reporters in Salaheddin province, of which Tikrit is the capital.
"We are very keen for our losses to be as low as possible. Time is on our side, we have the initiative," he said on the 11th day of the offensive.
No one involved has provided casualty figures since the start of this latest and largest operation to retake Tikrit, which has been in IS hands since June.
But dozens of bodies are being driven south to Baghdad and the Shiite holy city of Najaf almost every day and, while government forces have had the upper hand, IS has done damage with suicide car bombs, booby traps and snipers.
"We don't want to be rushed because we want to avoid casualties," police Staff Major General Bahaa al-Azzawi told AFP in Albu Ajil, a village from which Tikrit can be seen across the Tigris River.
"Tikrit is sealed off from all sides," he said.
All towns and villages on the river's eastern bank were under the control of anti-IS forces on Thursday.
With crucial military backing from neighbouring Iran and a 60-nation US-led coalition, Baghdad has made gains.
IS has countered by ramping up its propaganda war with ever more shocking videos of child fighters executing prisoners or of the destruction of some of the world's most precious heritage sites.
On Thursday, the group released an audio recording presented as a speech by top IS spokesman Abu Mohammed al-Adnani in which he formally welcomes Boko Haram into the IS fold.
Boko Haram had pledged allegiance to IS on Saturday but the move had yet to be formally accepted by IS supremo Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi for the Nigerian extremist group to become part of the "caliphate".
"We announce to you to the good news of the expansion of the caliphate to West Africa," Adnani said.
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