Iraq forces brace to flush out ISIL dregs from Tikrit
The Iraqi Army, backed by Shia and Sunni volunteers, is preparing for the full liberation of the north-central city of Tikrit from the ISIL Takfiris’ clutches.
Iraqi commanders have been plotting a strategy for siphoning out the remaining ISIL terrorists from the city, located 140 kilometers northwest of Baghdad.
Karim al-Nuri, a top leader of the Badr militia and spokesman of the volunteer Popular Mobilization units, said it would take no more than “72 hours” to liberate Tikrit from the ISIL, which seized it last summer. He said “their number is now 60 to 70″.
The city fell into the hands of the ISIL last summer. Its liberation will pave the way for retaking the terrorists’ northern hub, Mosul.
‘70% of the city freed’
Khalid Jassam, the head of the security committee of Tikrit Provincial Council has told the Erbil-based BasNews outlet that the Iraqi forces and Shia militias currently control 70 percent of the Sunni-majority city.
The ISIL terrorists, many of whom were initially trained by the US Central Intelligence Agency in Jordan in 2012 to destabilize the Syrian government, now control parts of Iraq and neighboring Syria. They have been engaged in crimes against humanity in the areas under their control.
