Iraqi government forces have retaken
a large part of north-western Tikrit as they battle IS militants to
recapture the city, security officials say.
Soldiers and Shia
militiamen have reportedly raised the Iraqi flag at a hospital in the
Qadisiya district, two-thirds of which is under their control.
But they have so far not made much progress in Tikrit's south and west.
The operation to retake the hometown of Saddam Hussein is the biggest offensive yet by the Iraqi government.
Iran
is helping to co-ordinate the 30,000 soldiers and militiamen involved,
who are not being supported by US-led coalition air strikes
IS
captured Tikrit last June after the Iraqi army collapsed in the face of a
lightning advance by the group across northern and western Iraq.
Bridge 'bombed'
On Wednesday, a security official at the Samarra Operations Command in
Salahuddin province told the BBC that government forces had entered
north-eastern Tikrit after 10 days of heavy fighting in towns and
villages along the Tigris river to the north and south.
He said soldiers and Iranian-backed Popular Mobilisation (Hashid
Shaabi) militiamen now controlled two-thirds of Qadisya, Tikrit's
largest district, and had raised the Iraqi flag at the nearby military
hospital.
Raed al-Jubouri, the governor of Salahuddin province, of
which Tikrit is the capital, also announced that the "purging" of the
Qadisiya district was under way.
The security official added that
government forces had earlier retaken the village of Samra, to the
north-east, meaning they now had complete control of al-Alam district.
But
he cautioned that clashes were still taking place in the south of
Qadisiya and the government forces had failed to make any progress
elsewhere in the city.
The Reuters news agency reported that the
advance in Qadisiya stalled when troops came under fire from snipers and
had to pause to defuse roadside bombs and booby-trapped buildings.
The official at the Samarra Operations Command also said an assault
had been launched from the motorway west of Tikrit towards the
al-Hayakil and al-Diyum districts, and the city's industrial zone.
On
Tuesday, officials said IS militants had bombed a bridge over the
Tigris leading to al-Alam to slow the advance of government forces.
The
US-led coalition says it has not carried out air strikes in support of
the offensive because the Iraqi authorities have not requested them.
There are reportedly concerns about the overt involvement of the
Iranian military in the operation, with top Revolutionary Guards
commander Gen Qasem Soleimani allegedly overseeing it.
But
speaking in Washington, US Gen Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff, said: "The activities of the Iranians to support the
Iraqi security forces is a positive thing in military terms against
[IS]."
"But we are all concerned about what happens after the
drums stop beating and [IS] is defeated, and whether the government of
Iraq will remain on a path to provide an inclusive government for all of
the various groups within it. We are very concerned about that."
There
have been fears that Shia militiamen fighting alongside government
forces will carry out reprisals for the massacre by IS fighters and
allied Sunni tribesmen of at least 700 soldiers, most of them Shia, at
nearby Camp Speicher in June.
The offensive on Tikrit is the first
attempt to push out IS from a major urban centre in Iraq, and is seen
as a test for a planned operation to retake Mosul, the largest city in
the north.
US military officials have said that the assault on Mosul will likely
begin in April or May and involve up to 25,000 Iraqi troops, but have
said it could be delayed if government forces are not ready.
Popular Mobilisation
The Popular Mobilisation (Hashid Shaabi), comprising dozens of Shia militia, takes a lead role in Iraqi operations against IS
It was formed by the Shia-led
government in June 2014 after the army collapsed in the face of an
advance by IS across northern Iraq
Thousands volunteered to fight after
Iraq's most senior Shia cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, called on
people to take up arms and defend their country and its holy sites
Iran provides funding, weapons and
military advisers to militia in the Popular Mobilisation, and reportedly
controls several of them directly
The Popular Mobilisation is headed by
Jamal Jaafar Mohammed, also known as Abu Mahdi al-Mohandis, a former
Badr Organisation commander who is close to Iranian General Qassem
Soleimani
Militiamen have been accused of
committing atrocities and acting with impunity. Activists say Sunni Arab
civilians have been forced from their homes, kidnapped, and in some
cases summarily killed
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