Iraqis capture town near Tikrit

Operation sets stage for big push against ISIS

Iraqi soldiers and Shiite militiamen captured a town Tuesday on the outskirts of the Islamic State- held city of Tikrit, sealing off Saddam Hussein’s hometown in preparation to confront the extremists in one of their biggest strongholds, officials said.

Seizing Alam puts the offensive on course to attempt to liberate Tikrit in the coming days, the ultimate battle- readiness test for Iraqi forces now advancing there without the support of U. S.- led airstrikes.

Their operation likely will set the stage for how Iraq attempts to retake the more- densely populated cities of Mosul and Fallujah from the militants.

Tikrit is one of the largest cities held by Islamic State militants and lies on the road connecting Baghdad to Mosul. Retaking it will help Iraqi forces have a major supply link for any future operation to retake Mosul.

Iraqi forces entered Alam early Tuesday, their armoured convoys roaring past empty fields and the occasional palm tree before gaining full control hours later, Iraqi officials said. By nightfall, the military sealed off Tikrit on all sides, the officials said.

After seizing Alam, Shiite militiamen held assault rifles over their heads, chanting that the Islamic State group was “unable to conquer us.”

Their involvement has been key in the Iraqi offensive, as have the involvement of Iranian military advisers guiding them.

Among those directing operations is Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani, commander of the powerful Revolutionary Guard’s Quds Force. The overt Iranian role and the prominence of Shiite militias in the campaign have raised fears of possible sectarian cleansing should Tikrit, an overwhelmingly Sunni city, fall to the government troops.

Most battlefield successes in Iraq have been co- ordinated efforts, with Iraqi and Kurdish forces and Shiite militias fighting on the ground and the U. S.- led coalition providing air power.

The Islamic State group holds a third of Iraq and neighbouring Syria in its self- declared caliphate.

In Syria, activists said Tuesday that more than 70 prisoners escaped from an Islamic State jail in the northern town of Al- Bab, with militants searching for those who fled.