Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi announced the zero hour of an operation to liberate ISIS-held territories in the province of Saladin, with its capital Tikrit, according to Al Arabiya News Channel.
The offensive will be supported by air strikes from the U.S.-led coalition against ISIS, the Iraqi army said earlier.
Residents of Tikrit were reportedly told to evacuate the area ahead of the military operation.
Iraqi officials and militia commanders regard the recapture of Tikrit as an essential step toward the liberation of Mosul.
The specifics of the battle’s plan were not revealed. But military experts believe that joint Iraq forces will attack from multiple fronts.
The first location will be from the Aoja area, south of Tikrit, with the support of Iraqi Special Forces. The second front will be from an area close to Tikrit University in which the Iraqi army and police will attack from. The third attack will carried from the southwest of Tikrit.
Security sources told Al Arabiya News Channel that Iraqi forces are now in control of the northern areas of the Albu Obaid village and west of Tikrit.
The operation to retake Tikrit, the home town of Iraq’s former President Saddam Hussein, marks a major test for Iraqi forces.
[alarabiya.net]
1/3/15
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Iraq 'seizes districts from IS' in Tikrit advance...
ReplyDeleteIraqi government forces say they have retaken some districts around Tikrit in their fight to recapture the city from Islamic State (IS).
A force of about 30,000 troops and militia are said to be attacking on different fronts, backed by air strikes from Iraqi jets.
A commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards is taking part in the operation, a Shia militia commander told the BBC.
Tikrit, north of the capital Baghdad, fell to IS militants last June.
Security sources told the BBC that pro-government troops had seized control of the two districts of al-Tin, near Tikrit university north-east of the city, and the district of al-Abeid, in the west.
Earlier, fighting was also reported in al-Dour, south-east of Tikrit, as well as in al-Alam, north of the city, and nearby Qadisiya.
There were few details of the operation but army and medical sources were quoted as saying that five soldiers and 11 militia fighters had been killed............http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-31699632
2/3/15
No timeline should be imposed on Iraqi forces planning an offensive to take back the key city of Mosul as the operation will require elaborate preparations, a senior U.S. envoy said Monday...
ReplyDelete"We've got to be very careful and we need to resist trying to put a timeline on it," said John Allen, the retired U.S. general appointed to coordinate the international coalition against ISIS.
"We just need to be ready when the time comes," Allen said.
A U.S. military official recently said an eventual counteroffensive against ISIS jihadis in Mosul would likely come in April or May, prompting an angry response from the Iraqi government........... http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2015/Mar-03/289407-no-timeline-for-iraqi-offensive-in-mosul-us.ashx#sthash.XrOwEE61.dpuf
3/3/15
Iranian commander helps Iraqi forces in attempt to seal off Islamic State around Tikrit ...
ReplyDeleteThousands of Iraqi soldiers and Shi'ite militiamen sought to seal off Islamic State fighters in Tikrit and nearby towns on Tuesday, the second day of Iraq's biggest offensive yet against a stronghold of the radical Sunni Islamist militants.
Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani, who has helped coordinate Baghdad's counter-attacks against Islamic State since it seized much of northern Iraq in June, was overseeing at least part of the operation, witnesses told Reuters.
His presence on the frontline highlights neighboring Iran's influence over the Shi'ite fighters who have been key to containing the militants in Iraq..............http://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/Iranian-commander-helps-Iraqi-forces-in-attempt-to-seal-off-Islamic-State-around-Tikrit-392766
3/3/15