Iraqi government forces are advancing into Tikrit on several fronts, forcing Islamic State (IS) militants to fall back to the city centre, officials say.
Soldiers and militiamen have reportedly retaken areas and key sites in the north, south and west, including a police headquarters and a hospital.
One militia commander said 75% of the city was under government control.
Some 23,000 personnel are believed to be involved in the operation to recapture Saddam Hussein's hometown.
It is the biggest offensive against IS mounted by the government since the jihadist group captured large parts of the country last June.
Meanwhile, the BBC has seen video evidence that IS is using chlorine gas as a weapon in Tikrit.
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Ahmed Maher reports on the latest weapon in Islamic State's arsenal
The Iraqi government said small amounts of the chemical were being used in crude roadside bombs targeting its forces.
'IS fleeing'The battle for Tikrit appeared to be entering a critical phase on Thursday, with about 3,000 Iraqi army soldiers making a final push for the city, backed by 20,000 Popular Mobilisation militiamen and a much smaller force of Sunni tribesmen.
A security official in the Samarra Operations Command in Salahuddin province told the BBC government forces had taken the Industrial Zone and Celebrations Square near the city centre after seizing the Qadisiya area further north.
They also now reportedly hold the Teaching Hospital and the New Ouja district in the city's south-east, and the al-Diyum and al-Hayakil areas in the west.
The official said battles with IS militants were taking place near Celebrations Square, in the western district of al-Zuhur , and around the presidential palaces in the south-east.
Artillery, planes and helicopters are supporting the troops.
A senior Popular Mobilisation commander, Moeen al-Kadhimi, told CNN 75% of the city was back in government control.
The remaining 25% was in the hands of about 150 IS militants, Mr Kadhimi added.
On Wednesday, a senior police officer told Iraqi state television IS militants were seizing civilian cars and trying to flee.
Fears for SunnisSpeaking in Washington on Wednesday, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen Martin Dempsey, said he was certain the operation was going to succeed, despite the fact that US-led coalition air power was not being used.
But with Iranian-backed Shia militia leading the fight for Tikrit and the Iranian military helping to co-ordinate it, he voiced concerns about what would happen to the city's Sunni population when the fighting was over.
"There's no doubt... they're going to run [IS] out of Tikrit," he told a hearing of the Senate foreign relations committee.
"The question is what comes after, in terms of their willingness to let Sunni families move back into their neighbourhoods - whether they work to restore the basic services that are going to be necessary, or whether it results in atrocities and retribution."
Shia militia leaders have vowed to seek revenge for the massacre by IS fighters and allied Sunni tribesmen of at least 700 soldiers, most of them Shia, at Camp Speicher outside Tikrit last June.
The offensive on Tikrit is the first attempt to push out IS from a major urban centre in Iraq and is seen as a test for a planned operation to retake Mosul, the largest city in the north.
US military officials have said that the assault on Mosul will likely begin in April or May and involve up to 25,000 Iraqi troops but have said it could be delayed if government forces are not ready.
Popular Mobilisation- The Popular Mobilisation (Hashid Shaabi), comprising dozens of Shia militia, takes a lead role in Iraqi operations against IS
- It was formed by the Shia-led government in June 2014 after the army collapsed in the face of an advance by IS across northern Iraq
- Thousands volunteered to fight after Iraq's most senior Shia cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, called on people to take up arms and defend their country and its holy sites
- Iran provides funding, weapons and military advisers to militia in the Popular Mobilisation, and reportedly controls several of them directly
- The Popular Mobilisation is headed by Jamal Jaafar Mohammed, also known as Abu Mahdi al-Mohandis, a former Badr Organisation commander who is close to Iranian General Qassem Soleimani
- Militiamen have been accused of committing atrocities and acting with impunity. Activists say Sunni Arab civilians have been forced from their homes, kidnapped, and in some cases summarily killed
Can Iraq's army dislodge Islamic State?
How Iran is involved in battle for Tikrit
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Tikrit campaign key to rolling back IS advance
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