Joint Iraqi forces end fight for Tikrit

After weeks of fierce fighting with ISIS militias, joint Iraqi forces have ended their attempt to retake the city of Tikrit, Arabi 21 reported on Friday. The head of a volunteer brigade told the BBC that ISIS fighters still control around 70 per cent of the city.

The predominantly Shia militia group has been working with Iraqi troops as well as Sunni fighters to try to regain the birthplace of former President Saddam Hussein from ISIS. The city fell to the extremist group last June, when it captured large areas of Iraq and Syria for its “Islamic caliphate”.

On 1 March, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi ordered Iraqi forces to retake Tikrit and Salahuddin province. ISIS did not make it an easy decision, having blown up a key bridge, preventing the Iraqi forces from crossing the River Tigris to approach the city from the east.

CNN reported that there have been several failed attempts to recapture Tikrit since the second half of 2014. If the Iraqi government regains control of the city, it could mean that retaking Mosul, a city 10 times bigger, is a real possibility.

Iran has provided advisers, weapons and ammunition to the Iraqi government in this effort. According to the Pentagon, the Iranians may also be operating heavy artillery and rocket launchers.

General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday that the consensus was that Iran’s involvement was positive in military terms. “Anything anyone does to counter ISIS is in the main a good outcome,” he said.

At the same time, he noted, the United States is concerned about what role Iran might seek in the longer term once ISIS is defeated.