Sunnis fear return to Tikrit weeks after IS defeat

Iraqi government forces drove the Islamic State group out of Abu Mustafa's hometown of Tikrit over a month ago, but he has yet to return, fearing the Shiite militias that now patrol its bombed and battered streets.

The well-off businessman, who fled to Iraq's relatively secure Kurdish region before the operation began, has heard of widespread looting and vandalism. His own property has been targeted. And he has heard that militiamen are exacting revenge on Sunnis like him, viewing them as sympathizers of the IS group.

Shiite militia commanders deny such allegations and have urged Sunni residents of Tikrit to return. But of the hundreds of thousands who fled, only a tiny fraction have come back, complicating the government's efforts to restore normal life and bridge the country's sectarian divide.