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| Iraqi forces launch offensive to take strategic city from Islamic State | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| BAGHDAD — Iraqi forces backed by Shiite militiamen opened a large-scale operation Monday seeking to retake the Islamic State-held city of Tikrit, a critical stepping stone for possible wider attempts to reclaim territory in northern Iraq. | |
| The offensive — announced on Iraqi state television — marks the third attempt by government forces to regain control of the city from the Islamic State fighters who seized it last June. | The offensive — announced on Iraqi state television — marks the third attempt by government forces to regain control of the city from the Islamic State fighters who seized it last June. |
| Tikrit, about 80 miles north of Baghdad and the birthplace of Saddam Hussein, is a strategic foothold along a key highway linking Baghdad and Mosul, the largest city in northern Iraq. Mosul also is held by the Islamic State. | |
| Senior Iraqi officials said security forces, joined by Shiite gunmen and pro-government Sunni fighters, had attacked Tikrit from three sides. The soldiers were also backed by artillery fire and airstrikes from Iraqi fighter jets, according to the Iraqiya state television channel. | |
| [Watch: Islamic State smashes artifacts in Mosul] | |
| It was not immediately clear whether the U.S.-led coalition will shift airstrikes to the Tikrit area to aid the ground forces. | It was not immediately clear whether the U.S.-led coalition will shift airstrikes to the Tikrit area to aid the ground forces. |
| But government-led forces appeared to hold back on a push to break through the defensive lines around the city. | |
| Gen. Abdul-Wahab al-Saadi, the military commander for region around Tikrit, told state TV that the operation was “going on as planned,” but he noted that “some time” was need to try to enter the city. | |
| Tikrit and surrounding areas are populated by Sunnis, which view the Shiite-led government in Baghdad with suspicion. | Tikrit and surrounding areas are populated by Sunnis, which view the Shiite-led government in Baghdad with suspicion. |
| The presence of Shiite forces — which have close ties to Shiite power Iran — could be a test of Sunni cooperation in the region. | |
| Iran’s Fars news agency said offensive is being assisted by members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, including the commander of the elite Quds force, Gen. Ghasem Soleimani. | |
| Iran is a major opponent of the Islamic State, and Soleimani has been shown in various battle fronts in Iraq over the past months. But the latest report could not be independently confirmed. | |
| In June, Islamic State militants seized the city as part of a lightning assault on northern Iraq that also saw Mosul fall to the extremists. | In June, Islamic State militants seized the city as part of a lightning assault on northern Iraq that also saw Mosul fall to the extremists. |
| In the wake of their attack on the city, the extremists executed as many as 1,700 Iraqi army soldiers – all Shiites – at Camp Speicher. | In the wake of their attack on the city, the extremists executed as many as 1,700 Iraqi army soldiers – all Shiites – at Camp Speicher. |
| Brian Murphy in Washington contributed to this report. |