According to the New York Times:
Shiite militia leaders said that their fighters made up more than two-thirds of the pro-government force of 30,000, and that the Iranian spymaster Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani was helping to lead from near the front lines.
Alongside them were advisers and troops from Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, operating artillery, rocket launchers and surveillance drones, according to American officials…
[…]
But progress appeared slow in the push against Tikrit on Tuesday, with no breakthrough in the Iraqi coalition’s efforts to enter the city. Iraqi military officials said they had reached the outskirts of Al Dour, just south of the city, and were advancing slowly after freeing 13 police officers held there by the Islamic State.
Mohammad al-Turkomani, a leader in the militias known as the “popular mobilization” forces, said that with American participation in Tikrit, “we would have moved twice as fast.”
[…]
For their part, Iraqi officials increasingly complain that American support has not been as robust as Iran’s. Many Iraqis resent what they see as American squeamishness about the militias, which by all accounts have been crucial to holding back the Islamic State after regular army units fled its assault.
“Americans consider us a militia that does not represent the government, while we are defending the country and helping the government,” said Mueen al-Kadhimy, a leader in the Badr Organization, a prominent militia. “We are the people of Iraq.”COMMENTARY: The Battle of Tikrit is expected to be a tough slog for Iraq and the Iran-led coalition against ISIL, without U.S.-led coalition tactical air power.
Much is on the line for the Iranians in terms of regional martial regard. Their coalition forces are said to be providing 2/3 of the said 30,000 force committed to the larger military operation.
The Iranians have a previous set of limited military successes in Iraq; before that more mixed results in Syria, where they've at a minimum been able to maintain the Syrian Arab Republic against a field of adversarial forces.
In the Battle of Tikrit, the Iran-led coalition and ISF forces appear to possess advantages of overwhelming numbers and materiel. Envisioned battle duration is for ten days or beyond, with logistics identified as a potential determining factor for whether or not the battle devolves into a relatively lengthy siege.
Iran-supplied Fath Safir ("Ambassador") tactical vehicle fitted with 107 mm MLRS
Photo of IRGC-QF Commander Soleimani, said taken near the front during Battle of Tikrit
5 comments:
Its real time for ISIS to play with real hell fire and death after filming many cut throats videos of innocents men, women & children. What ISIS have done in past nine months will be return to them with compound interest (Inshallaha). ISIS is nothing to do with Islam but to promote Wahabism, anti Shia ideology funded by bribe oriented regime of KSA & Qatar. Rizvi/India
They are all the same.
They are not all the same. Elements of Shia are guilty of many atrocities in post 2003 Iraq and other places no doubt. However Shia will fight along side Kurds, Christians, Sunni Arabs...... While IS types are bulldozing history and murdering and raping....... everything that doesn't adhere to their retarded perversion of Islam!
@interested party
Have you forgotten what Khalkhali tried to do by attempting to bulldoze Persepolis? Thankfully the Iranian people stopped them in their tracks.But that hasn't prevented the regime from slowly and systematically destroying pre-islamic sites throughout Iran.Also what happens in places like Kahrizak and Evin et al ? The very same things as you just mentioned that IS does. It has been the Iranian people that has put a leash around the regim's neck or else it would have been far more worse than it is already in Iran. Nevertheless for sanity's sake ISIS for now needs to be eliminated by the Iraqi people.
I guess when the Prophet Mo had hundreds of men of the Banu Qurayza beheaded and the women and children sold into slavery that had nothing to do with Islam either? Sure.
Post a Comment