UPDATE: Iraq Claims Gains In Tikrit Offensive Against Islamic State
March 6, 2015
Baghdad (Alliance News) – Iraqi government forces Tuesday said they had gained ground in a major offensive aimed at recapturing the city of Tikrit and other areas along the Tigris river north of Baghdad that have been held for months by the Islamic State militant group.
Military officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they had taken the Hamrin district east of Tikrit and two villages east of Dur from the jihadists.
The reported gains suggest that government forces are advancing westwards through mainly desert areas towards the Tigris.
Iraqi state television said that the army had also surrounded the Qadisiyyeh district on the northern outskirts of Tikrit, the hometown of former ruler Saddam Hussein.
Local news site Alsumaria quoted the commander of a mainly Shiite volunteer force, the Popular Mobilization, as saying that troops were also surrounding Islamic State forces in the city centre from the north, south and west.
In a sign of the challenge facing government forces, local news service Alsumaria News reported that they had dismantled 57 bombs and booby traps in just one district south-east of the city.
Security forces fear that Islamic State fighters have rigged explosives throughout the city centre to impede their advance. The extremist group has previously used that tactic before retreating from other areas.
Officials have said some 30,000 members of the security forces and mainly Shiite volunteers are taking part in the operation, which was launched at dawn on Monday.
Large numbers of Shiite militias are also thought to be involved in the operation, despite repeated allegations that they been responsible for abuses against civilians in other Sunni areas.
Radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr warned against the involvement of what he called “brazen militias.”
Al-Sadr, who recently suspended the activities of his own paramilitaries, said in comments reported by Alsumaria that they risked becoming “a black mark on the forehead of the jihad.”
The offensive is the largest to be undertaken by the Iraqi government since Islamic State overran large areas of Sunni Arab northern and western Iraq.
Unlike previous offensives, the Iraqi forces have not been supported with airstrikes by the US-led alliance against the Islamic State.
The Washington Post Monday quoted US officials as saying that Iraq had not informed them of the operation or requested support.
Iran, a key backer of the Shiite militias, has been more forthcoming.
Its semi-official Fars News Agency on Monday published what it said were photographs of Iranian Revolutionary Guard commander Qassem Suleimani who had “offered advice” to Iraqi commanders ahead of the Tikrit offensive.
March 6, 2015
Baghdad (Alliance News) – Iraqi government forces Tuesday said they had gained ground in a major offensive aimed at recapturing the city of Tikrit and other areas along the Tigris river north of Baghdad that have been held for months by the Islamic State militant group.
Military officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they had taken the Hamrin district east of Tikrit and two villages east of Dur from the jihadists.
The reported gains suggest that government forces are advancing westwards through mainly desert areas towards the Tigris.
Iraqi state television said that the army had also surrounded the Qadisiyyeh district on the northern outskirts of Tikrit, the hometown of former ruler Saddam Hussein.
Local news site Alsumaria quoted the commander of a mainly Shiite volunteer force, the Popular Mobilization, as saying that troops were also surrounding Islamic State forces in the city centre from the north, south and west.
In a sign of the challenge facing government forces, local news service Alsumaria News reported that they had dismantled 57 bombs and booby traps in just one district south-east of the city.
Security forces fear that Islamic State fighters have rigged explosives throughout the city centre to impede their advance. The extremist group has previously used that tactic before retreating from other areas.
Officials have said some 30,000 members of the security forces and mainly Shiite volunteers are taking part in the operation, which was launched at dawn on Monday.
Large numbers of Shiite militias are also thought to be involved in the operation, despite repeated allegations that they been responsible for abuses against civilians in other Sunni areas.
Radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr warned against the involvement of what he called “brazen militias.”
Al-Sadr, who recently suspended the activities of his own paramilitaries, said in comments reported by Alsumaria that they risked becoming “a black mark on the forehead of the jihad.”
The offensive is the largest to be undertaken by the Iraqi government since Islamic State overran large areas of Sunni Arab northern and western Iraq.
Unlike previous offensives, the Iraqi forces have not been supported with airstrikes by the US-led alliance against the Islamic State.
The Washington Post Monday quoted US officials as saying that Iraq had not informed them of the operation or requested support.
Iran, a key backer of the Shiite militias, has been more forthcoming.
Its semi-official Fars News Agency on Monday published what it said were photographs of Iranian Revolutionary Guard commander Qassem Suleimani who had “offered advice” to Iraqi commanders ahead of the Tikrit offensive.
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