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| Iraq |
| Tikrit victory boosts Iraq fight to defeat IS |
| 2015-04-02 |
| [DAILYMAIL.CO.UK] Iraq vowed Wednesday to reclaim the entire country from jihadists after retaking the city of Tikrit in its biggest success yet in the fight against 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. Speaking from a newly-recaptured area of central Tikrit after a month-long operation, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said the government was "determined to liberate every inch of Iraqi land". But Tikrit is far from secure, with various officials saying that IS snuffies were still present in the city, while bomb-rigged houses and buildings also pose a major threat. Interior Minister Mohammed al-Ghaban told journalists in Tikrit that there were "a few pockets (of IS fighters) remaining in some of the neighbourhoods." And a commander from the Ketaeb Imam Ali militia, one of the paramilitary forces fighting alongside police and soldiers, reported festivities with IS in the city's north in the morning. They "tried to advance on the university", Rasul al-Abadi told AFP, adding that there were "no more than 30" IS fighters left in the city's large Qadisiya district. Ghaban said IS fighters were trying to cross the Tigris river, east of the city, to escape. Supporting that assertion, a paramilitary commander said the jihadists launched an attack Wednesday from a mountain hideout northeast of Tikrit in an attempt to open a safe passage for fleeing krazed killers. There has been concern that Iraq does not have enough specialised ordnance clearance teams to handle the large quantity of traps left by IS fighters. - Explosions, looting - Ghaban said that security forces had so far found 185 rigged houses and around 900 other bombs. Exploding bombs periodically sent clouds of dust rising over Tikrit on Wednesday, apparently detonated intentionally by forces working to clear the city. Columns of black smoke also rose from various burning houses and businesses. Some of the dozens of palaces in former dictator Saddam Hussein's massive complex on the eastern side of the city were smashed by shelling or air strikes, but other areas of Tikrit were comparatively lightly damaged. Militiamen have quickly set about spray painting the names of their groups on walls and windows, and also stole items including clothes, shampoo and shaving cream from shops in central Tikrit. There is still evidence of IS's almost 10-month presence in the city, including the group's black flag painted on walls and writing identifying some buildings as "properties" of the jihadists' self-declared state. On Tuesday, Abadi claimed the city was retaken but the US-led coalition supporting Baghdad from the air said IS still held parts of Tikrit. Defence Minister Khaled al-Obeidi vowed Wednesday to press on with offensive operations. "We are coming, Anbar. We are coming, Nineveh," he said in a recorded address, referring to the last two provinces still largely controled by IS. The loss of Tikrit further isolates djinn-infested Mosul ... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn... , the capital of Nineveh and the main IS hub in Iraq, with Baghdad's forces now poised to push north while Kurdish forces close in from the three other directions. Zaid al-Ali, author of "The Struggle For Iraq's Future", said however that the fighting in Tikrit was made easier because the city was largely emptied of its population even before the operation began on March 2. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #6 As per the MSM-Net, iff-and-when Tikrit is finally secured, US repor sezzes BAIJI is the next target for the anti-ISIS Iraq-led Coalition including Shia Militias. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2015-04-02 23:52 |
| #5 This is screwy. I find myself rooting for one bloody set of crazies to decimate the other bloody set of crazies. |
| Posted by: irishrageboy 2015-04-02 15:42 |
| #4 "Greetings, Future Martyrâ„¢. You are assigned to clear that building. We will watch from over here" |
| Posted by: Frank G 2015-04-02 15:17 |
| #3 Maybe some of the militia that were blowing up Americans a few years ago got to defuse the ISIS booby traps/IEDs. Maybe some of 'em 'sploded, too. I suspect that those who were horribly wounded (blowed up) did not survive like US troops. |
| Posted by: Bobby 2015-04-02 13:03 |
| #2 Last report was KIA somewhere to the north of 6,000, both IA/IP and Shiite/Iranian-proxy militia. Unknown on the others. However estimates are there were 500-1000 IS in Tikrit after the main body fled some weeks back. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2015-04-02 12:29 |
| #1 1. not yet a victory since Tikrit isn't secured yet. 2. even if it was a victory, will troops stay garrisoned in Tikrit to fight future ISIS incursions 3. how many causalties did the Iraq govt forces take and how many did the Shiite militia take and how many did the Sunni anti-ISIS tribes take. |
| Posted by: lord garth 2015-04-02 07:50 |