This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/26/world/middleeast/iraq-islamic-state-tikrit-united-states-airstrikes.html
The article has changed 10 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| U.S. Airstrikes on ISIS Reported in Tikrit for First Time | U.S. Airstrikes on ISIS Reported in Tikrit for First Time |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| BAGHDAD — American warplanes began airstrikes against Islamic State positions in Tikrit late Wednesday, entering an offensive to retake the city for the first time since its start more than three weeks ago. | |
| A coalition of Shiite militias and Iraqi security forces aided by Iranian military advisers have been trying to root out Islamic State fighters from Tikrit, an important city north of Baghdad in Iraq’s Sunni heartland. From the start, the offensive went without American air assistance — government and militia officials had boasted that airstrikes were neither needed nor wanted, and American officials privately expressed discomfort with the idea of directly aiding an operation led by militias and Iranian officials. | A coalition of Shiite militias and Iraqi security forces aided by Iranian military advisers have been trying to root out Islamic State fighters from Tikrit, an important city north of Baghdad in Iraq’s Sunni heartland. From the start, the offensive went without American air assistance — government and militia officials had boasted that airstrikes were neither needed nor wanted, and American officials privately expressed discomfort with the idea of directly aiding an operation led by militias and Iranian officials. |
| But in recent days, as the militants have continued to hold out in central areas of the city, Iraqi military officials have said that airstrikes would be needed to fully secure Tikrit — despite rebukes by Shiite militia commanders. | But in recent days, as the militants have continued to hold out in central areas of the city, Iraqi military officials have said that airstrikes would be needed to fully secure Tikrit — despite rebukes by Shiite militia commanders. |
| Surveillance flights by coalition aircraft over Tikrit began late Tuesday night, according to a spokesman for the Iraqi military’s Salahuddin Operations Command, which has responsibility for the military side of the Tikrit operation. And witnesses reported late Wednesday night that heavy bombing runs had begun in the city against the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL. | Surveillance flights by coalition aircraft over Tikrit began late Tuesday night, according to a spokesman for the Iraqi military’s Salahuddin Operations Command, which has responsibility for the military side of the Tikrit operation. And witnesses reported late Wednesday night that heavy bombing runs had begun in the city against the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL. |
| In Washington, the Pentagon confirmed Wednesday night that airstrikes had begun in Tikrit. And Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, in a speech broadcast on Iraqi state TV from an undisclosed location in Salahuddin Province Wednesday night, hailed the strikes, saying, “The time of freedom has just been started.” | |
| He continued: “We announce today what we have promised you yesterday, that we are going to liberate and clear each spot of our territory, and ISIS won’t have a foothold on Iraq’s land.” | |
| Earlier Wednesday, Khalid Shwani, the spokesman for President Fuad Masum, said that Iraqi and American officials had formed a committee of senior advisers to decide whether airstrikes would be beneficial. “President Masum is expecting that the Americans will conduct airstrikes in Tikrit,” he said. | Earlier Wednesday, Khalid Shwani, the spokesman for President Fuad Masum, said that Iraqi and American officials had formed a committee of senior advisers to decide whether airstrikes would be beneficial. “President Masum is expecting that the Americans will conduct airstrikes in Tikrit,” he said. |
| Until Wednesday, American airstrikes had continued in other parts of Iraq, but not near Tikrit, which is on the main highway between Baghdad and the northern city of Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city and a stronghold of the Islamic State since June. | Until Wednesday, American airstrikes had continued in other parts of Iraq, but not near Tikrit, which is on the main highway between Baghdad and the northern city of Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city and a stronghold of the Islamic State since June. |
| American officials have said that was mostly because Iraqi officials had not yet asked for airstrikes. But they also acknowledged concerns about Iran’s unusually high-profile involvement in the Tikrit fight. The commander of the Quds Force of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, Qassem Suleimani, has been photographed and videotaped around the Tikrit front. And Iraqi leaders have publicly praised the Iranians for their assistance, with some contrasting it with lack of American assistance on the ground. | American officials have said that was mostly because Iraqi officials had not yet asked for airstrikes. But they also acknowledged concerns about Iran’s unusually high-profile involvement in the Tikrit fight. The commander of the Quds Force of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, Qassem Suleimani, has been photographed and videotaped around the Tikrit front. And Iraqi leaders have publicly praised the Iranians for their assistance, with some contrasting it with lack of American assistance on the ground. |
| Even as some Iraqi security officials began worrying about the absence of airstrikes, Hadi al-Ameri, the prominent leader of the group of Shiite militias known here as popular mobilization committees, criticized any outreach toward the United States. | Even as some Iraqi security officials began worrying about the absence of airstrikes, Hadi al-Ameri, the prominent leader of the group of Shiite militias known here as popular mobilization committees, criticized any outreach toward the United States. |
| “Some of the weaklings in the army say that we need the Americans, but we say we do not need the Americans,” Mr. Ameri said. | “Some of the weaklings in the army say that we need the Americans, but we say we do not need the Americans,” Mr. Ameri said. |
| The preponderance of the 30,000 fighters on the Iraqi side have been members of the militias, fighting alongside Iraqi soldiers and policemen. The Iraqi government has tried to broaden the offensive to include more Sunnis, but the force remains largely Shiite. | The preponderance of the 30,000 fighters on the Iraqi side have been members of the militias, fighting alongside Iraqi soldiers and policemen. The Iraqi government has tried to broaden the offensive to include more Sunnis, but the force remains largely Shiite. |
| The offensive began on March 2, with officials making repeated claims that the city would be reclaimed within days, as they did most recently last March 12. Then in recent days officials have said they preferred to consolidate their gains rather than risk more civilian casualties by continuing to press their attack. | The offensive began on March 2, with officials making repeated claims that the city would be reclaimed within days, as they did most recently last March 12. Then in recent days officials have said they preferred to consolidate their gains rather than risk more civilian casualties by continuing to press their attack. |
| At Friday Prayer in Karbala last week, a sermon by Sheikh Abdul Mehdi al-Karbalaee, a representative of Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, the powerful spiritual leader of Iraq’s Shiites, pointedly called for more unity and better organization in the fight in Tikrit. That was widely taken as implicit criticism of the offensive’s lack of success. The representative also said that fighters should refrain from flying Shiite religious banners, suggesting that better efforts should be made to involve Sunnis in the fight. | At Friday Prayer in Karbala last week, a sermon by Sheikh Abdul Mehdi al-Karbalaee, a representative of Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, the powerful spiritual leader of Iraq’s Shiites, pointedly called for more unity and better organization in the fight in Tikrit. That was widely taken as implicit criticism of the offensive’s lack of success. The representative also said that fighters should refrain from flying Shiite religious banners, suggesting that better efforts should be made to involve Sunnis in the fight. |
| Last Sunday, Mr. Ameri, the militia organizer, praised Mr. Suleimani for his help in Tikrit but said that he had left the area. “Qassem Suleimani is here whenever we need him,” Mr. Ameri said at a news conference at Camp Ashraf, a militia base north of Baghdad. “He was giving very good advice. The battle ended now, and he returned to his operational headquarters.” | Last Sunday, Mr. Ameri, the militia organizer, praised Mr. Suleimani for his help in Tikrit but said that he had left the area. “Qassem Suleimani is here whenever we need him,” Mr. Ameri said at a news conference at Camp Ashraf, a militia base north of Baghdad. “He was giving very good advice. The battle ended now, and he returned to his operational headquarters.” |
| Some analysts suggested that Mr. Suleimani’s departure from the battlefield, or other signs of a lower Iranian profile, made the resumption of American air cover more possible. | Some analysts suggested that Mr. Suleimani’s departure from the battlefield, or other signs of a lower Iranian profile, made the resumption of American air cover more possible. |
| Omar al-Jawosy in Baghdad and an Iraqi employee of The New York Times in Salahuddin province contributed reporting |