ISIS CRISIS
THE IRAQI ARMY, supported by helicopter gunships, went on an all-out offensive on Saturday to reclaim a major city seized by bloodthristy rebels.
The battle being waged in Tikrit, the hometown of executed dictator Saddam Hussein, was launched at dawn with air strikes aimed at rooting out foes tied to the Al Qaeda-inspired Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.
“ISIS fighters now have two choices — flee or be killed,” Iraqi Army Lt. Gen. Sabah Fatlawi told the Agence France-Presse.
Iraqi special forces trained by the U.S. engaged in heavy gun battles with the Islamic mili
tants, including a fight to oust rebels from the University in Tikrit, witnesses and Iraq army officials said.
There were also fierce battles in the northern town of Mosul, as the Iraq government sought to retake the area from the Sunni jihadists.
Following hours of fighting, the Iraq army issued a statement claiming Tikrit had been “cleansed” of the terrorists.
But Tikrit residents reached by The Associated Press by phone said rebels still controlled large swaths of the city.
A spokesman for the rebels, who are intent on turning Iraq into an Islamic state, claimed an Iraqi helicopter gunship had been shot down.
The military said the blitz included tanks, helicopters and pro-government Sunni fighters and Shiite
volunteers.
The U.S. is staying out of combat operations, but is deploying 300 military advisers to Iraq and flying armed drones to protect Army personnel on the ground.
But Iraqi military sources told the BBC that U.S. military advisers were coordinating the Tikrit offensive.
The rebels took control of Tikrit, about 90 miles north of Baghdad, earlier in June, punctuating the triumph with the executions of 160 to 190 men believed loyal to the government.
There was no i mmediate word on how many casualties resulted from Saturday’s fighting.
Muhanad Saif al-Din, who lives in Tikrit, said many residents had fled the city.
“Tikrit has become a ghost town because a lot of people left over the past 72 hours, fearing random aerial bombardment and possible clashes as the army advances toward the city,” Saif al-Din said. “A few people (who) remain are afraid of possible revenge acts by Shiite militiamen who are accompanying the army. We are peaceful civilians and we do not want to be victims of this struggle.”