Since June 2014 Iraqi forces tried toretake Tikrit five times, failing each time. However, forthis operation the Iraqi government assembled a formidable force of20,000 troops, made upof regular army units, Shiite militias and Sunni tribesmen. But perhaps the worst news forIS terrorists is that the Iranian Islamic Revolution Guards Corps will be taking part inthe offensive led byQuds Force Commander General Qassem Soleimani.
In an unprecedented move, the Iraqi government and parliament officially requested General Soleimani tooversee the operation bysupervising and advising Iraqi forces. Effectively, this means the Iranian general will be commanding the joint Iraqi-Iranian offensive onTikrit.
The Iranian commander, who enjoys a great deal ofinfluence amongShia militias inIraq, arrived inTikrit onSaturday and was received bya large crowd ofIraqi army leaders, soldiers, and Iraqi civilians hailing his presence.
Soleimani had played an active role inbattles againstthe Islamic State inIraqs Diyala nearthe border withIran; inAmerli, inthe north ofthe country; and inIraqi Kurdistan. He was also responsible forestablishing Hezbollah Syria, and laying the grounds tothwart ISIL inSyria.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="656"]
AP PHOTO/ OFFICE OF THE IRANIAN SUPREME LEADER Then chief of Iran's Revolutionary Guard's Quds Force Gen. Ghasem Soleimani, third right, sits next to the commander of the Revolutionary Guard, Mohammad Ali Jafari, third left, in a meeting of the commanders of the Revolutionary Guard with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran, Iran.[/caption]Under his latest command inTikrit onMonday, the Iraqi Army has pounded Islamic State militants, capitalizing onIraqi and international coalition airstrikes, and seizing vital areas inthe province ofSalahuddin, north ofBaghdad, according toits governor Raed Ibrahim al-Jubouri.
"The troops advanced withoutresistance inal-Teen neighborhood fromthe northern western side ofthe city and fromthe south, the police academy building has been controlled which is (2 km away fromthe building ofthe province) and met asresidents met the forces withan overwhelming revolution ofjoy, said al-Jubouri, according toLebanese daily al-Akhbar.
Commanders hope this broad operation will be a step towardsliberating Mosul, ISIL militants main hub inIraq.
The battle inTirkit will also serve asa model forthe upcoming and much larger battle tobe fought inthe northern Iraqi city. Mosul has been underIslamic State control sinceJune 2014, giving militants control overmuch ofnorthern Iraq.
Tikrit, located almost halfway betweenBaghdad and Mosul, will serve asan important transit and logistical hub betweenthe capital and the northern city.
But the Iraqi governments main challenge lies inoverthrowing militants withoutalienating local Sunnis. Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi has strongly urged Sunni locals tocooperate withgovernment forces forthe well-being ofall citizens.
[Tikrits] liberation will mean liberating the whole province, Rafid Jaboori, spokesman forthe Iraqi premier said. That will show the world once again the determination ofthe Iraqi government toliberate its land and protect its people no matter what their religious or ethnic background might be.
According toal-Araby al-Jadeed, some 13,000 Islamic State militants are fighting the battle inTikrit.
By Sputnik News
