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Iraq Launches Major Assault to Retake Tikrit from IS
[AnNahar] Some 30,000 Iraqi troops and militia backed by aircraft pounded jihadists in and around Tikrit on Monday in the biggest offensive yet to retake one of the Islamic State...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allaharound with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not reallyMoslems.... group's main strongholds. Government forces have battled their way north for months, notching up key victories against IS, but Tikrit has been their toughest target yet with the jihadists having resisted them several times. Commanders voiced hope the operation would be a step towards the recapture of djinn-infested Mosul ... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn... , the jihadists' main hub in Iraq. "The army, federal police, Popular Mobilization (volunteer) units, and the sons of Salaheddin's tribes are performing the duties of liberation in the largest operation against Daesh since June," said a senior army officer on the ground, using an Arabic acronym for IS. "We are certain of victory... but the operation is not easy," the officer told Agence La Belle France-Presse. The operation began in early morning after being announced by Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi the previous evening. Military sources said warplanes were involved, but the Pentagon said they excluded those of the U.S.-led coalition fighting IS. "We're not providing air strikes in support of the operation around Tikrit," said Pentagon front man Colonel Steven Warren. It was unclear whether Iranian planes were involved, however. Both Iraqi and Iranian media said Qassem Soleimani -- the commander of the al-Quds Force covert operations unit of Tehran's elite Revolutionary Guards -- was in Salaheddin province to help coordinate operations. - Appeal to spare civilians - Abadi urged the security forces to spare civilians, a message echoed by the U.N. and responding to fears of reprisals against Sunnis in the area. Hadi al-Ameri, the Popular Mobilization units' powerful commander, on Saturday urged Tikrit residents to leave their homes within 48 hours so government forces could "wrap up the battle of the Dire Revenge for Speicher." Speicher is a military base near Tikrit from which hundreds of new, mostly Shiite, recruits were kidnapped before being murdered execution-style in the early days of the IS offensive that swept through much of the Sunni Arab heartland north and west of Baghdad in June. Shiite militias in particular have vowed to avenge the murders, sparking fears of mass killings against Sunnis if Tikrit were to be recaptured. Some Sunni tribes have been accused of direct involvement in the Speicher massacre. Abadi appealed to residents to turn against the jihadists, who have suffered a string of losses since Iraq's foreign partners stepped up their support. "I call on all those who were misled and made mistakes in the past to lay down their arms today. This may be the last chance," Abadi said, suggesting some could be granted amnesty. Posted by: trailing wife 2015-03-03 |
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