Iraqi offensive to retake Tikrit underway

Some 30,000 Iraqi troops and militias have launched a full-scale offensive backed by airstrikes to retake the major city of Tikrit from Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militants, Al Arabiya’s correspondent in Iraq said.

“Security forces are advancing on three main fronts towards Tikrit, Ad-Dawr (to the south) and Al-Alam (to the north),” an army lieutenant colonel on the ground told Agence France-Presse by telephone.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi had announced on Sunday the “zero hour” of an operation to liberate ISIS-held territories in the province of Saladin, with its capital Tikrit, according to Al Arabiya News Channel.

Iraqi forces are also “moving along side roads to prevent Daesh’s escape,” the colonel said, using an Arab acronym for the ISIS, which has controlled the hometown of executed dictator Saddam Hussein for nearly nine months.

Residents of Tikrit were reportedly told to evacuate the area ahead of the military operation.

Iraqi officials and militia commanders regard the recapture of Tikrit as an essential step toward the liberation of Mosul.

The specifics of the battle’s plan were not revealed. But military experts believe that joint Iraq forces will attack from multiple fronts.

The first location will be from the Aoja area, south of Tikrit, with the support of Iraqi Special Forces. The second front will be from an area close to Tikrit University in which the Iraqi army and police will attack from. The third attack will carried from the southwest of Tikrit.

Security sources told Al Arabiya News Channel that Iraqi forces are now in control of the northern areas of the Albu Obaid village and west of Tikrit.

The operation to retake Tikrit, the home town of Iraq’s former President Saddam Hussein, marks a major test for Iraqi forces

....”Those rockets are are a real Iranian specialty”....

The photo commentator mentioned these were “new” to the area , that “more and more of these are now being seen”. So you called that right.

I was reading some Middle Eastern news sites where they quote the Iranian General saying this was going to take time to set up. Also read he’s called in his “speciality” units just recently, like in the last couple days, ....Additionally looks like Turkey’s not a part of this but planes of cargo just landed in Baghdad full of “support” items etc.

So you also called it right they’re setting things up for whenever they make their push. That first night, though, it would appear they accomplished scaring the daylights out of ISIS as the leadership at least high-tailed it out of Tikrit....I still am in awe of the force and frequency of that which they used....and have seen some other firefights as well since then..though mostly sounds of but they were equally as fierce.

Yes, ..there is concern over the Shia Militia’s...rather like Ukraine’s Azov and other militia’s operating in their theater... who aren’t under Kiev’s control,... which BTW... the commander of Asov was shot dead today or yesturday. When they first began they heeded Kiev’s Commanders...but as soon as there were cease fires they refused to accept that and continued to fight on anyway...and some are still....So the concern in Iraq is well founded.

...."I expect significantly more for Mosul"....

Nineveh Governor:

16,000 Volunteers Trained For Mosul Operation New recruits await orders

Nujeifi told BasNews that the new recruits have been trained to use heavy and light weapons, and to fight at close quarters. ....The volunteers were trained by special foreign military advisers in northern of Iraq.

Nujeifi believes that the success of the operation depends on cooperation from both the Peshmerga and Iraqi army..... The Iraqi Ministry of Defense recently announced that 8,000 other volunteers are being trained – 5,000 of them in Shekhan, north of Mosul, and the others in Makhmour.

(Looks like the ME "neighborhood" are all going to be stepping up into this battle for Mosul....I do believe this battle against ISIS is going to be moreso then when we went into Iraq....and deadlier!)

Interesting twist....

Wounded Peshmerga to Receive Treatment in Iran.... Medical team from the Ministry of Peshmerga visited Iranian Consulate yesterday.

Peshmerga fighters

Even the bad guys are scared and getting out of Dodge!....Running like rabbits....Appears many going to Syria...interesting read here....

Foreign Islamic State 'Militants' Move Families From Mosul...more than 85 foreign militants and their families joined commanders of ISIS in leaving Mosul.

Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) official from the Zumar sub-district Hasan Khalo told BasNews, “Foreign militants and commanders of IS have begun moving their families from Mosul to IS controlled areas in Syria this week, and a large number of them have already left the city.”

“They are leaving Mosul in small groups to avoid causing tension,” Khalo said.

The exodus is thought to be in response to the operation to free Tikrit and other areas of Salahaddin Province, raising fears of an operation to liberate Mosul in the near future.

http://basnews.com/en/news/2015/03/04/foreign-islamic-state-militants-move-families-from-mosul/

“Even the bad guys are scared and getting out of Dodge!....Running like rabbits....Appears many going to Syria”

Retaking Iraq may go very quickly if ISIS just retreats. They are very unlikely to win against this big of an army. If the ISIS command structure flees, they will probably instruct the locals and some of their low value recruits to fight on bravely, conducting guerrilla and suicide attacks, while they dress like women and drive for the border.

Once areas are retaken, remaining ISIS and their supporters will be hunted by police, intelligence and militia death squads. Although Shia militia were famous for torturing and maiming Sunni opponents (including al quaeda), the Kurdish militias were famous for efficiently getting all the al quaeda in their areas. Not one American was killed in the Kurdish areas during years of occupation, because Kurdish intelligence was quickly investigating any new guy who came to town, and the whole population had their eyes out for them.

Kurds are mostly Sunni themselves, so it is much more a political and ethnic thing for them, not so much religious. Although Puritanical ISIS Wahabbis are generally down on the Sunni Sufism that is popular with Kurds, they kind of tolerate it to a good degree, whereas they hate Shiism as a heresy, more than almost anything else - maybe more than Jews and Christians.

On the other hand, this is the Middle East, and this is war - news reports can be unreliable or deliberately deceptive. Reports of ISIS commanders fleeing may simply be standard psyops, geared to cause a few more enemy to flee than would have otherwise. Tikrit will be a good test of ISIS resolve, and Sunni Arab sectarian sentiment. Mosul will be decisive.

“Wounded Peshmerga to Receive Treatment in Iran”

The Kurds are a bit like the Swiss - many speak several languges. Diplomatically, they must manage relations with several larger neighbors in a rough neighborhood. As the old Kurdish saying goes, Turks, Arabs, Persians - our only friends are the mountains.

Although relatively small, they can be swing a player in the shifting sands of local conflicts, so the others are usually at some point in negotiating with them for support. Iran has long had close relations with them. Barzani’s KDP political party has over decades managed to cultivate significant support from America, Iran, Israel and now Turkey - not too shabby. They took a huge beating from Sadaam for playing the middle with the Iranians during the Iran/Iraq War.

There is a large Kurdish minority just over the border in Iran. They have long running business relationships, and extended family relationships there. So to some degree it may just be business as usual, going to the closest hospital that has a good trauma center, or other specialty.

I assume most everyone has read the reports that Iranian advisors and possibly troops are part of this effort. Iran is at war with ISIS. And Iraq is pretty much an Iranian client state at this point. Zero never should have created that situation; but that is the situation on the ground and we have no way to change that.

So, given that, isn’t it interesting that all the ISIS atrocity information started going wide about the time that Iran got into a war with ISIS? Atrocities always get a lot of PR in the US when the US wants to go to war. And now Obama has congress whipped up to start sending military aid and troops to fight ISIS.

If you back way off about the middle east, two sets of thugs are at war to see who will create and control the Califate, ISIS and Iran. Our president is for some strange reason, deeply attracted to Iran and might even be regarded as their ally. (The US isn’t there yet; but the president is, IMO).

I really don’t see much difference between ISIS and Iran, except that Iran has or will soon have nukes. Both are composed of monsters. ISIS, however, is a monster as to the regions it controls. Iran is a monster that threatens the whole world.

So at the 30,000 foot level, hasn’t the president set things up nicely to intervene as Iran’s ally against the main, current Muslim power in the ME that balances Iran’s power? Wouldn’t the US be better off to have ISIS and Iran slugging it out for decades, instead of intervening as Iran’s ally against ISIS?

Just a final note: Is Zero’s budding alliance with Iran the reason that the administration got so hysterical about Netanayhu’s speech? Instead of the nuclear negotiations. And what side deals is Zero making with Iran about the US supporting Iran’s quest and claim for hegemony in the ME?

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