NOVANEWS
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A member of militias known as Hashid Shaabi stands next to a wall painted with the black flag commonly used by Islamic State group militants
The city of Tikrit is largely under government control, according to Iraqi officials.
Iraqi government forces said Wednesday they had retaken a number of key sites in the city of Tikrit and forced the Islamic State group to retreat.
The military and its Iraqi militia allies now occupy the city’s military hospital, while at the time of writing there were reports of heavy fighting around Tikrit’s palace complex. Built by Saddam Hussein, the palace complex has been used by Zio-Wahhabi group as a local headquarters after it captured Tikrit over nine months ago.
Tikrit has been the Islamic State group’s second most important stronghold in Iraq, next to the city of Mosul.
Around 20,000 Iraqi troops now occupy much of the north and south of the city, along with local Sunni tribal groups and the Shiite militias called the Hashid Shaabi, which is backed by Iran.
Provincial spokesperson Marwan Jabara has claimed pro-government forces have fought their way into the city center, after days of creeping toward the city.
“Dozens of ISIS militants were killed,” he told Saudi Arabian broadcaster Al Arabiya. ISIS is an abbreviation of the former name used by the Islamic State group.
Iranian media has reported the west of the city remains in the hands of Zio-Wahhabi group, though the militants are retreating.
Iraq Provincial Affairs Minister Ahmed Abdulla Jubouri has claimed the noose is tightening around the remaining militants in the west.
“Tikrit is all but empty of civilians. The city has been surrounded by the Iraqi army and Shiite forces, forcing ISIS fighters to escape from the city,” he stated, according to Kurdish news agency Rudaw.
If government forces can hold Tikrit, it would be one of the Baghdad’s few major victories against Zio-Wahhabi group, and it could pave the way for retaking much of the north from the militants, including the larger city of Mosul.
Earlier attempts to retake Tikrit have been quickly repelled by Zio-Wahhabi group. The Iraqi government’s first major counteroffensive against the Islamic State group ended in an embarrassing failure in June 2014 when thousands of government troops barely made it into the city’s outer suburbs.
The military and its Iraqi militia allies now occupy the city’s military hospital, while at the time of writing there were reports of heavy fighting around Tikrit’s palace complex. Built by Saddam Hussein, the palace complex has been used by Zio-Wahhabi group as a local headquarters after it captured Tikrit over nine months ago.
Tikrit has been the Islamic State group’s second most important stronghold in Iraq, next to the city of Mosul.
Around 20,000 Iraqi troops now occupy much of the north and south of the city, along with local Sunni tribal groups and the Shiite militias called the Hashid Shaabi, which is backed by Iran.
Provincial spokesperson Marwan Jabara has claimed pro-government forces have fought their way into the city center, after days of creeping toward the city.
“Dozens of ISIS militants were killed,” he told Saudi Arabian broadcaster Al Arabiya. ISIS is an abbreviation of the former name used by the Islamic State group.
Iranian media has reported the west of the city remains in the hands of Zio-Wahhabi group, though the militants are retreating.
Iraq Provincial Affairs Minister Ahmed Abdulla Jubouri has claimed the noose is tightening around the remaining militants in the west.
“Tikrit is all but empty of civilians. The city has been surrounded by the Iraqi army and Shiite forces, forcing ISIS fighters to escape from the city,” he stated, according to Kurdish news agency Rudaw.
If government forces can hold Tikrit, it would be one of the Baghdad’s few major victories against Zio-Wahhabi group, and it could pave the way for retaking much of the north from the militants, including the larger city of Mosul.
Earlier attempts to retake Tikrit have been quickly repelled by Zio-Wahhabi group. The Iraqi government’s first major counteroffensive against the Islamic State group ended in an embarrassing failure in June 2014 when thousands of government troops barely made it into the city’s outer suburbs.
