A day after the Iraqi government announced the liberation of Tikrit from Islamic State forces, military commanders and Shiite militia members who are there described a city still under siege.
Islamic State fighters control about half of the hometown of former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein, including his old presidential compound, according to a military official interviewed in Tikrit on Wednesday, who declined to be identified for security reasons.
Claims that the city has been liberated were probably made for propaganda purposes, the official said, and shooting was still going on all over the city.
Photo: AFP
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi had announced “the liberation of Tikrit” and offered congratulations “on this historic milestone” on Twitter.
Iraqi state television showed images of the national flag and jubilant residents.
A recapture of Tikrit would mark Iraq’s biggest victory over Islamic State since the Sunni group seized a swath of the country and neighboring Syria last year and declared a self-styled caliphate, or religious state.
Iraqi forces, backed by Shiite militias and tribal fighters and supported by US airstrikes, pushed into Tikrit, about 140km northwest of Baghdad, on Tuesday after dislodging militants from southern and western suburbs.
They retook government buildings and the Rafidain bank, said Raed al-Jibouri, the governor of Salahuddin Province, where Tikrit is located.
Two US officials, who requested anonymity to discuss intelligence assessments, said Iraqi forces and Shiite militias appear to have wrested control of some, but not all, of Tikrit from the Islamic State, and their progress has been slowed by booby traps, roadblocks and other obstacles planted by the extremists.
How the prospective victors — especially the Iranian-backed Shiite militias — treat the predominantly Sunni population might matter more in the long run, said the officials, who are monitoring the situation.
In other instances, some Shiite and Sunni militiamen have ransacked homes, raped women and committed other crimes, the two officials said.
Doing so in the city where Saddam was buried would be especially divisive, they said.
Al-Abadi announced the campaign to recapture Tikrit at the beginning of last month.
It was seen as the first real test of an army that had collapsed in the face of last summer’s advance by Islamic State, formerly known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. It came with Iranian support and then the airstrikes by the US-led coalition, which helped to turn the tide.
“It’s symbolic and builds up morale for Iraqi forces and allies, so on that level it’s a success,” Ayham Kamel, Eurasia Group director for the Middle East and North Africa, said by telephone.
About 20,000 Shiite militia members trained and equipped by Iran fought alongside about 3,000 Iraqi soldiers and 1,000 Sunni tribal fighters, their advance slowed by home-made bombs and booby traps.
The US and allies began aerial bombing on March 26, after the initial ground offensive had stalled. US officials emphasized that they were not working in coordination with Iran.
Tikrit was once dominated by Hussein’s intelligence services and army officers.
When the Islamic State captured the city, it found support among some Sunnis who held deep grievances against Shiite-dominated governments in Baghdad.
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