IS readies for Tikrit last stand but ‘expands’ to Nigeria

Thousands of Iraqi forces laid siege to jihadists holed up in Tikrit Thursday but the Islamic State group shrugged off setbacks by welcoming Nigeria’s Boko Haram group into its “caliphate”. After making major gains in and around the city Wednesday, commanders were confident that Baghdad’s biggest victory yet against IS was only a matter of time. No one involved has provided casualty figures since the start of this latest and largest operation to retake Tikrit, which has been in IS hands since June.

Now we are moving to the second phase of our plan. We are very keen for our losses to be as low as possible. Time is on our side, we have the initiative.

Defence Minister Khaled al-Obeidi told reporters in Salaheddin province, of which Tikrit is the capital.

All towns and villages on the river’s eastern bank were under the control of anti-IS forces Thursday. Black and white IS flags on walls had been painted over with slogans cursing the jihadist group or praising Shiite militia groups. Tikrit is on the west bank and, until sappers throw floating bridges across the river, the nearest bridge is in Samarra, nearly 50 kilometres (30 miles) to the south. With crucial military backing from neighbouring Iran and a 60-nation US-led coalition, Baghdad has rolled back some of the losses. It started with operations to secure the Shiite holy cities of Karbala and Najaf and bolster Baghdad’s defences, then worked its way north, retaking Diyala province earlier this year.

We don’t want to be rushed because we want to avoid casualties. Tikrit is sealed off from all sides.

Staff Major General Bahaa al-Azzawi

Middle East Tikrit