Iraq’s largest offensive against Islamic State militants came a step closer to the city of Tikrit on Friday, with Shiite militia and Iraqi troops advancing into the town of ad-Dawr, according to Iraqi state television.
Ad-Dawr, just south of Tikrit, is home to Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, the highest-ranking member of former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein’s government who was never captured after the 2003 US-led invasion.
A prominent figure in the ruling Baath Party, he went on to make common cause with Muslim insurgents against US occupying troops and is now believed to be an ally of the Islamic State (IS).
Photo: Reuters
Despite setbacks in some villages over the past four days, IS fighters have managed to hold on to Tikrit itself, using suicide attacks and roadside bombs to augment their defense against a pro-government force of at least 30,000, most from Iranian-backed Shiite militias.
The militias have played a crucial role in halting the Islamic State’s march through Iraq.
However, their close ties to Iran, and allegations that they have killed Sunni civilians in revenge attacks after taking over some areas, have raised fears that the militias’ counteroffensive into Iraq’s Sunni heartland could worsen the sectarian strife that the Islamic State seeks to exploit.
“You must always act with self-control and avoid any emotional reaction when you lose one of your beloved ones,” Iraq’s most senior Shiite cleric, Ayatollah Ali Sistani, said on Friday in a sermon read by an aide. “You must protect the families that the enemy uses as human shields.”
The Islamic State has proved its ability in the past to fight on multiple fronts and appeared to do so again in recent days.
Militants carried out attacks on security forces in the western province of Anbar, even as the group’s fighters retreated in neighboring Saladin Governorate, leaving booby-trapped houses and roads behind to try to slow government advances.
Officials said that IS killed a number of pro-government forces in Anbar around the town of Karma on Thursday, and that in response, the army and air force bombarded those areas, prompting some families to flee.
Sistani’s sermon on Friday also appeared to give the government a nudge over the need to give sufficient financing and supplies to Sunni tribes in al-Anbar Governorate, another IS stronghold.
“Many tribes in al-Anbar who are showing a patriotic attitude against ISIS are complaining from the shortage in weapons and ammunition and foodstuffs,” the sermon said. “They might be tempted to change their attitude.”
Iraqi state television said Sunni tribal fighters played a role in the advance in Saladin Governorate. Militia leaders said their main role was to provide intelligence and basic information.
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