Iraqi army retreats from Tikrit after assault stalls

Salim al-Jabouri (R), new speaker of the Iraqi Council of Representatives, and Shi'ite deputy speaker Haidar Abadi (L), a member of Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's State of Law bloc, address a news conference in Baghdad, July 15, 2014. REUTERS/Ahmed Saad

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi forces have withdrawn from the militant-held city of Tikrit after their new offensive met heavy resistance, in a blow to the government effort to push back Sunni insurgents controlling large parts of the country.

The failure highlights the difficulties of Baghdad's struggle to recapture territory from the insurgents who seized Mosul, Tikrit and other cities last month in a rapid offensive which threatens to fragment Iraq on ethnic and sectarian lines.