Tikrit , Iraq ( CNN ) ISIS is gone , but the fear remains . As Iraqi forces , aided by Shiite militiamen , took control Wednesday of the northern city of Tikrit , they found vehicles laden with explosives and buildings that might be booby-trapped . CNN senior international correspondent Arwa Damon , who was in Tikrit on Tuesday , saw a large mechanical digger packed with explosives that Iraqi forces had to disarm . The troops , she said , were cautious when they entered buildings in case they were wired to explode . Plumes of smoke rose from burning buildings in the background . Near former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein 's presidential palaces compound -- Tikrit is Hussein 's birthplace -- the CNN team also saw a destroyed truck with a large machine gun mounted on the back . Iraqi forces said they had fired an RPG at the truck , killing three ISIS fighters . ISIS was ejected from the palaces compound in fierce fighting , they said , adding that there may still be booby traps . Federal police said they dismantled hundreds of IEDs ( improvised explosive devices ) Wednesday . CNN heard at least 16 explosions , some very loud , which police said were controlled . The potential booby traps were political as well as physical . Officials are concerned about the behavior of the conquerors , particularly the Iranian-backed Shiite militiamen who helped Iraqi troops . Officials fear the militiamen might take `` scorched earth '' reprisals for the reported massacre of Shiite air force cadets by ISIS fighters in Tikrit last year . Much of the population of Tikrit is , like ISIS , Sunni Muslim . And officials fear that reprisals by Shiite militias against the Sunni population could stoke local anger , jeopardizing the government 's ability to hold onto Tikrit and pull the country together . Sectarian resentment helped fuel the rise of ISIS in the first place . 'Where are our sons ? ' demand families of soldiers captured by ISIS . Still , the liberation of Tikrit from the terrorist group , which is also known as ISIL and calls itself the Islamic State , represented a significant victory for the Iraqi government , which had tried -- and failed -- to retake the city many times before . Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi arrived Wednesday to claim the victory , which took place a year after the city was first attacked by ISIS . Al-Abadi , who is also Iraq 's top military commander , had announced the previous evening on Iraqiya TV that the city was under the control of Iraqi forces . Iraqi forces continued to clean out pockets of resistance Wednesday , said Interior Minister Mohammed al-Ghabban , who was also in the city . But he said the Iraqi government would be in full control shortly . `` The enemy has been defeated , and it has lost all its capabilities , '' al-Ghabban said . `` In the coming hours , the battle will end . '' Iraqi security said that the few ISIS militants left in the city are hiding inside houses hoping to escape in the dark . ISIS ' nine-month dominion over Tikrit was marked by brutality . In addition to the reported massacre of the 1,500-plus air force cadets at Camp Speicher in June , ISIS is believed to have buried victims in mass graves and to have destroyed an Assyrian church that had graced Tikrit since the eighth century . The push into Tikrit came days after U.S.-led airstrikes targeted ISIS bases around the city . Al-Abadi said those tactics would now be replicated in other areas . Brett McGurk , the U.S. deputy special presidential envoy to the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL , tweeted that the coalition 's airstrikes had destroyed numerous ISIS shelters . `` We will continue to support courageous Iraqi forces operating under Iraqi command as they work to reclaim their territory from # ISIL , '' McGurk tweeted . The key to victory in Tikrit this time , the Prime Minister said , was surprise . But help from the coalition of Shiite militiamen and volunteers also played a part . The militia members , estimated to number around 20,000 , are backed by Iran . The offensive marked the first open participation of Iranian advisers on the front lines in Iraq . The victory in Tikrit sets the stage for Iraqi forces to take back an even bigger prize -- Mosul , Iraq 's second-largest city . A U.S. official said in February that up to 25,000 Iraqi troops plan to return to Mosul in April or May in an effort to retake the city . Don Melvin wrote this report in London . Arwa Damon and Hamdi Alkhshali reported from Tikrit and Jomana Karadsheh from Baghdad .
Tikrit is under the control of Shia forces , Shia Prime Minister says . ISIS departs , leaving city strewn with booby traps , explosive-filled vehicles . Officials hope to avoid Iraqi reprisals for ISIS slaughter of air force recruits .