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Iraq's request to the U.S.-led coalition for air strikes in the campaign to retake Tikrit from Islamic State insurgents is "imminent", a senior diplomat from a Western nation that is part of the coalition told Reuters on Tuesday. There was no immediate confirmation from the Iraq government. The coalition has been so far absent from the Tikrit campaign launched earlier this month, the largest to be undertaken by Iraqi forces and Iranian-backed Shi'ite Muslim militia groups since Islamic State overran a third of the country last year. The diplomat added the strikes in Tikrit would be based on the model in the north where the coalition has carried out air strikes in tandem with the Kurdish pershmerga forces.More...