China has expressed its intent to fight ISIS. (Photo : Reuters)
The control for the northern region of Iraq is hanging in a balance as Iraqi forces launches an all-out military operation on Tikrit, a region known to be a stronghold of Islamic State fighters. The offensive started on Thursday and the battle could play an important role in the fight against the Islamic State.
The offensive was without the help of the United States air force, according to the Washington Post. This could also be a test of coordination between the Iraqi government-led Sunni forces and the Iran backed Shiite fighters. Before the proliferation of the Islamic State, the two factions has been on constant war against each other but has recently joined forces in order to fight a common enemy.
Rocket propelled grenades as well as mortars have been heard all over Tikrit which was the hometown of Saddam Hussein. Due to the absence of air support from the US military, Iraqi forces were forced to face Islamic State fighters in urban and street-to-street combat.
Tikrit was taken by the Islamic State on June 2014 in its continued offensive to vie for total control of the northern part of Iraq. Shiite fighters stormed the town on Wednesday pushing through the bombed-rigged defenses of the Islamic State.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abad issued a statement on Thursday that majority of Tikrit is already under government control saying that victory was "achieved totally by Iraqi hands." Although the Islamic State still controls the palace complex which once housed Saddam Hussein and some location in the city center, military officials were confident that they will be able to completely control the area within the next few days.
A report from the New York Times said that this is the most significant defeat for the Islamic State since they started their military offensive to control Iraq's northern region.
