News Digest

Military op to recapture Saddam Hussein’s hometown from IS begins

Iraq has launched a military operation to recapture Tikrit, a key city some 80 miles north of Baghdad, from Islamic State militants, Iraqi TV says. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi earlier met military leaders in the Salahuddin province, where troops and militia were preparing for the advance. Tikrit is one of several areas in the mainly Sunni Muslim province in the hands of IS. While Iraq is bitterly divided between minority Sunnis, who were an important base of support for Saddam Hussein, and the Shiite majority, the cooperation between Shiite and Sunni fighters in Monday’s operation was an important development in the battle against IS. Hours ahead of the operation, al-Abadi called on Sunni tribal fighters to abandon the extremist group, promising them a pardon.

I call upon those who have been misled or committed a mistake to lay down arms and join their people and security forces in order to liberate their cities.

Haider al-Abadi, Iraqi prime minister

The Iraqi military launched an operation in late June to try to wrest back control of Tikrit, but that quickly stalled. Other planned offensives by Iraq’s military, which collapsed under the initial IS blitz, also have failed to make up ground, though soldiers have taken back the nearby refinery town of Beiji, backed by airstrikes from a U.S.-led coalition. Tikrit, which saw attacks on U.S. forces during the American occupation of the country, is one of the biggest cities held by IS. It also sits on the road to Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city, which is also held by the extremists. Any operation to take Mosul likely would require Iraq to seize Tikrit first. In February alone, violence across Iraq killed at least 1,100 Iraqis, including more than 600 civilians, the U.N. Assistance Mission in Iraq said Sunday.

Daily terrorist attacks perpetrated by ISIL continue to deliberately target all Iraqis. There are also concerning reports of a number of revenge killings by armed groups in areas recently liberated from ISIL.

Nickolay Mladenov, United Nations envoy