US estimates that active ISIS fighters in Iraq and Syria have dropped considerably

The US anti-ISIS envoy has indicated that the ISIS ranks had fallen from more than 60,000 to between 12,000 and 15,000 and these are 'battle ready' fighters. This is because nearly three quarter of ISIS fighters have been killed during the campaign of airstrikes against the terror group.
The aerial bombing campaign has conducted 17,000 strikes against ISIS targets.
This has been reported in dailymail.co.uk dated 15 December 2016.

It seems that the bombing campaign launched against ISIS, which began two years ago, has eliminated more fighters in Iraq and Syria than are remaining on the battlefield. As per US records, the American-led coalition had killed 50,000 ISIS militants since 2014.
In the course of a talk at the White House, the US special envoy to the anti-ISIS coalition, has predicted that the number of ISIS fighters would continue to decline - this is due to the fact that the terror group is no longer in a position to replenish its members.
However, efforts to neutralize ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has not been successful but he will be found and eliminated.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org
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All is not well in Europe - 1750 ISIS jihadists have returned to carry out attacks

EU has indicated that nearly 1,750 ISIS jihadists have returned to Europe - some of them have orders to carry out terror attacks. It seems 5,000 European fanatics had gone to Syria and Iraq and 15 to 20 per cent of them have been killed on the battlefield.
However, 35 percent have returned and some of them have come with 'specific missions'. Another 50 percent have remained in the battle arena.
This has been reported in dailymail.co.uk dated 8 December 2016.

Belgium had expressed concerns on this development. There were two types of 'foreign terrorist fighters' returning and one of these is those who will be sent on specific missions.
Some of the European women and children born or raised in the so-called caliphate declared by ISIS in Iraq and Syria could pose a security threat because of radicalization. Some returnees have been convicted and are serving prison sentences and others are being monitored while some are free in their communities.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

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Truck bomb in a petrol station kills at least 70 in Iraq

At least 70 people, most of them Iranians, have been killed and another 45 wounded when a truck bomb ripped through a petrol station south of Baghdad. The incident happened in the village of Shomali near the city of Hilla which is located some 75 miles southeast of the capital Baghdad.
The target appeared to have been buses that were ferrying Iranian pilgrims heading home after participating in Arbaeen, a major Shia holiday in the holy city of Karbala.
This has been reported in news.sky,com dated 24 November 2016.

Head of the provincial security committee for Babylon, the province where the bombing happened, has revealed that several buses were targeted and that it was a suicide attack. There are at least 70 dead and fewer than 10 were Iraqis, remaining were Iranians.
ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attack.
As per reports, more than 20 million people visited Karbala this year, and the Iraqi authorities have indicated that around three million of them were Iranians. Iraq had positioned nearly 25,000 members of the security forces in and around the shrine city to protect the pilgrims from a feared IS attack.
Iraqi forces are at present engaged in driving out militants from the northern city of Mosul which had been captured by the ISIS in 2014. This Iraqi city is the last major urban centre still held by the extremist group.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org


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Battle to retake Mosul from ISIS has begun

The battle has been launched to retake control of the Iraqi city of Mosul from Islamic State and convoys of Iraqi and Kurdish forces were moving towards the east of the city. Simultaneously, the US-led coalition airstrikes are extending aerial support.
The bid to regain control of the city of Mosul is seen as the biggest military operation in Iraq since American troops left in 2011.
This has been reported in news.sky.com dated 17 October 2016.

It is estimated that nearly 2,000 Iraqi special forces are in action with support of four brigades of the regular Iraqi Army, 15,000 Sunni militia, 15,000 Kurdish Peshmerga and a few thousand Shia militia. Their objective is to take the fight to an estimated 3,000 IS fighters in the city and snipers will be sent in first to fight street-by-street.
There are genuine fears that Mosul will be rigged with explosives. Moreover, the fear of chemical weapons cannot be ruled out. Islamic State does have the capability and it is quite possible that they have been saving the weapons for 'D-Day'. Mosul is the last city in Iraq that is still held by IS.
The UN has cautioned that up to one million people could be displaced from Mosul during the operation. The families are at "extreme risk" of not only being caught in crossfire, but tens of thousands may end up besieged or held as human shields and thousands could be forcibly expelled.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org


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Terrorist attacks and suicide bombing kill at least 46 in Iraq

Terrorist attacks in Iraq have killed at least 46 people - the attacks included a suicide bombing and its responsibility has been claimed by the Islamic State group. This attack was the deadliest to hit Baghdad in months.
The violence has been unleashed as Iraqi forces get ready for an operation to retake Mosul which is the last IS-held city in the country. This will be a key battle, but it will not put an end to the threat of attacks as was witnessed.
This has been reported in zeenews.india.com dated 15 October 2016.

It seems in the deadliest attack, a suicide bomber targeted a funeral tent where mourners had assembled to pay their respects in the Shiite-majority Shaab area of north Baghdad - the blast killed at least 34 people and wounded at least 36. The suicide bomber entered the funeral tent and blew himself up as lunch was being served. ISIS issued an online statement claiming the attack and saying it was carried out by a man who detonated an explosive vest.
ISIS is a Sunni extremist group and it considers Shiites to be heretics. Therefore, they frequently carry out suicide bombings and other attacks against them in Baghdad and other parts of the country.
The latest bombing is the deadliest to hit the Iraqi capital since early July. At that time a suicide bombing in central Baghdad sparked infernos in a crowded shopping area and more than 300 people were killed.
Apart from the Baghdad attack, militants attacked two areas north of Baghdad, killing another 12 people.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org


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Hillary Clinton reiterates that US will not put ground troops in Iraq and Syria

Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton has reiterated that the US will not put ground troops into Iraq and Syria in the military campaign against the Islamic State (IS) militant group. It was the stand taken by Barack Obama and Clinton wants to continue with the same. In her opinion, putting a large contingent of American ground troops in Iraq and Syria would not be in the best interest of the fight against the IS and other terrorist groups.
This has been reported in thestatesman.com dated 9 September 2016.

She did not want to drag the US back into a ground war in the Middle East but would prefer to continue US President Barack Obama's current anti-IS strategy in spite of severe criticism from the Republicans. She admitted that she would support the air campaign, special forces and the enablers. She would also support surveillance, intelligence and reconnaissance and would be prepared to do whatever is necessary to support the Arab and Kurdish fighters on the ground so that they can destroy as much of the infrastructure of the IS from the air.
And, she will also be committed to target-killing of IS leadership.
Incidentally, at present there are about 5,000 US troops in Iraq and several hundreds more are dispatched to northern Syria. But, they do not fall in the category of "ground troops" because they are not combat troops and are there to assist and train local forces in their fight against the IS.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org


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War waged on ISIS by the US and UK has destroyed 26000 targets

When the US-led coalition began its airstrikes on Islamic State targets in Iraq and Syria, it had been predicted that it would be a long drawn-out one. And, from existing statistics, it is evident that even though the combined efforts of the US and UK have destroyed 26000 ISIS targets, much more needs to be done.
This has been reported in news.sky.com dated 9 August 2016.

Till now, more than 14,000 strikes have been launched at a cost of $8.4bn to the United States and $365m to the UK and nearly 26,000 targets have been either destroyed or damaged. The campaign has stepped in its second year an additional 2,336 airstrikes and there have been twice as many civilian deaths. Figures indicate 1,080 according to data furnished by a London-based monitor called Airwars.
However, the Pentagon says that only 55 civilians have been killed by US aircraft while the UK Ministry of Defence says British strikes have not resulted in death of any innocents. The fact is that nearly 3.2 million Iraqis have been displaced and the number of Syrians is much more. The mass exodus has had a devastating all round effect because it has not only changed borders, but has swelled towns, and emptied cities.
Incidentally, in 2014, President Barack Obama had said that he did not want the United States to be dragged into another war in Iraq - but, events have proved otherwise - right now, there are some 3,800 US soldiers in Iraq. And, the US plans to send another 400 American troops to an airbase south of Mosul which is a strategic city.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org


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Airstrikes in Fallujah kill 70 ISIS fighters including one of its leaders

Airstrikes crried out by US led coalition forces have killed more than 70 Islamic State fighters, including the one of the leaders of the group in the Iraqi city of Fallujah. As indicated by a spokesman of the American military based in Baghdad, IS fighting positions have been destroyed in 20 strikes over four days. According to him, the group's Fallujah commander had died in the aerial attacks on the city.
This has been reported in news.sky.com dated 27 May 2016.

Elimination of the leader will not cause the enemy to completely stop fighting, but it does create a problem as it causes the second-in-command to have to move up and disturbs the balance of power. The airstrikes are almost constant. One of the residents revealed that they had been living for weeks on rice, canned food and processed cheese and the stocks were fast depleting.
The authorities have already told tens of thousands of civilians to flee the city, which has been under IS control since 2014. Iraqi troops have been trying to drive IS militants from their stronghold west of Baghdad after launching the new offensive on Sunday night. US planes also dropped leaflets telling locals to avoid IS areas. The leaflets directed those who cannot leave to put white sheets on their roofs to mark their locations.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

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A senior member of counter terrorism cell has revealed that a fifth of the 350 British jihadists who have returned to the UK are 'high threat' extremists and it is suspected that they could be plotting or wanting to carry out attacks on British soil or could be spreading radical propaganda.
This has been reported in dailymail.co.uk dated 21 April 2016.

As per estimates, nearly 800 British extremists are believed to have traveled to Syria and Iraq to join ISIS. A warning has been sounded by the national counter terrorism co-ordinator that destroying ISIS may not happen soon and it would pose a serious threat to national security for a 'long, long time'. It is also understood that they are trying to recruit new members because they plan further attacks on European soil.
ISIS has already claimed responsibility for the deadly attacks in Paris last November in which 130 people were killed, and also the Brussels attacks last month, which killed 32. They have been targeting Britain for months and there are fears that these terrorists are planning nuclear and chemical attacks in Britain.


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Britain to deploy extra troops to Iraq to fight ISIS

Defence Secretary Michael Fallon has indicated that the UK would deploy more troops to Iraq to help train the country's armed forces in preparation of a fresh offensive against Islamic State. Michael Fallon has offered to send 30 extra troops and they would provide training in logistics and bridge-building apart from act as specialist medical staff. They would most likely be stationed in training camps at Besmayah and Taji in the Baghdad area. This deployment would bring the number of UK military personnel involved in training in Iraq to 300.
This has been reported in news.sky.com dated 12 March 2016.

Michael Fallon has remarked that the deployment is against the background of "solid progress" made against IS in recent months. He has also said that the time has come to to step up the training of Iraqi Forces, as they prepare for operations in key cities such as Fallujah and Mosul.
The UK government has continuously insisted that training missions does not constitute 'boots-on-the-ground' even though the British Special Forces are operating in the region. Rather, the UK contribution fits into a wider mission involving a number of nations.


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Iraq's Mosul dam could collapse and unleash a disaster with 45-feet high waves

Fearing a possible collapse of the Mosul Dam in Iraq, the United States has urged governments to quickly mobilize its resources to prevent a disaster and a "humanitarian catastrophe of epic proportions" in case the dam does collapse. In recent months there has been signs of a possible breach in Iraq`s largest dam and this could unleash a wave as high as 45 feet that would devastate Mosul and flood much of the capital Baghdad. As a result, nearly 1.5 million people would be at grave risk.
This has been reported in zeenews.india.com dated 10 March 2016.

US Ambassador Samantha Power has informed all UN member states to take immediate steps after he was briefed on the subject by Iraq`s UN Ambassador Mohamed Ali Alhakim. The ambassador has described briefings by technical experts, engineers and representatives from UN aid and development agencies as "chilling."
Incidentally, the Mosul dam in northern Iraq was built on an unstable foundation that is continuously eroding. There was a lapse in required maintenance because the ISIS jihadist group had briefly seized it in 2014 and that has weakened the already flawed structure.
The caution has been sounded that in case of a breach, it could release flood waves of up to 45-feet high that could sweep up everything in its path, including people, cars, unexploded ordnance, waste and other hazardous material and that would further endanger the massive population centers that lie in the flood path.
Obviously, repair work must be undertaken on immediate priority and Iraqis must be well informed about the best evacuation routes. An Italian firm has been selected to carry out crucial repair work on the dam, which is currently protected by Kurdish peshmerga forces.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

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ISIS is reportedly holding 3500 women and children as slaves in Iraq

#ISIS #yazidis #iraq As per UN reports released in Geneva, the ISIS is holding nearly 3500 women and children as slaves in Iraq - most of them belong to the Yazidi community, but there are many others from other ethnic and religious minority groups. The UN Assistance Mission for Iraq and the UN's human rights office have documented innumerable instances of abuses which in some cases would be treated as war crimes, crimes against humanity, and possibly genocide.
This has been reported in news.sky.com dated 19 January 2016.

The revelation goes on to indicate that the ISIS militants have imposed a harsh rule marked by gruesome public executions that include shooting, beheading, bulldozing, burning people alive and throwing them off the top of buildings. Moreover, there are verified reports on child soldiers - nearly 800 - 900 youngsters had been abducted in the Iraqi city of Mosul for military and religious training.
Other shocking statistics are - between the beginning of 2014 and the end of October 2015, at least 18,802 civilians had been killed in Iraq, and another 36,245 wounded.
It may be recalled that the Islamic State had made its main incursion into Iraq in the summer of 2014 and had swept across the northern and western areas.
The casualty figures are only for those who were killed or maimed by overt violence, but there are countless others who have died from the lack of access to basic amenities like food, water or medical care.

Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

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Sniper kills five ISIS jhadists with only three bullets in Iraq

#ISIS #jihadists #Mosul #iraq An SAS sniper in Iraq killed five ISIS jihadists with only three bullets and succeeded in preventing a group of jihadists launching a suicide bomb attack in a dramatic shoot-out in an ISIS-held part of Iraq. The operation happened two weeks ago about 10-Km outside the ISIS stronghold of Mosul and is termed as a 'classic SAS mission'.
This has been reported in dailymail.co.uk dated 14 December 2015.

The marksman, who had joined the SAS a decade ago had saved the lives of hundreds of innocent people - he fired three well-aimed shots at the jihadists as they left a bomb factory near Mosul. He got the go-ahead after the men were seen leaving the bomb factory wearing heavy coats in hot weather – it was a sign that they were trying to hide their suicide vests.
They were believed to be on their way to carry out a terror attack at a nearby town and had plans to detonate their suicide vests amongst hundreds of civilians that would lead to mass deaths.
The SAS veteran managed to eliminate all three of the extremists, as well as two 'guards' who were supposedly in place to keep a look-out and protect them from military forces. The sniper shot the first jihadi in the chest as he walked out of the factory - that resulted in his suicide vest to detonate. He was killed instantly and took with him the two ISIS 'guards' who were in a nearby car.
The second ISIS militant was shot in the head and the third was killed when the sniper's bullet struck his suicide vest and caused it to detonate.

(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

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Iraqi city of Ramadi falls to Islamic State, troops abandon weapons and flee

#ramadi #ISIS #Iraq #johnkerry The Iraqi city of Ramadi has fallen to the Islamic State following days of intense fighting and bombings by the terror group and Iraqi troops have abandoned their weapons and have fled the scene. Black flags have been raised over local government headquarters.
This has been reported in news.sky.com dated 18 May 2015.
Spokesman for the governor of Anbar province has confirmed that Ramadi has fallen … the military is fleeing. The provincial command center in the city had fallen into the hands of the ISIS – this has been informed by a colonel who is among troops who had withdrawn.

However, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has issued orders for the government forces to "hold their positions" and has called on troops, tribesmen and other elite forces to push the militants out of Ramadi.
US Secretary of State John Kerry is on an official visit to South Korea. He has said that he was confident the loss of Ramadi would be reversed and also re-iterated his warning that the fight against IS would be a long one.
The number of casualties is continuously on the increase and approximately 500 people - militants and civilians - have been killed in Ramadi in the last two days. Moreover, around 8,000 have fled as IS launched a fierce offensive of suicide car bomb attacks.
It has also been reported that 15 Iraqi troops and police died on Sunday in four near-simultaneous car bombings. AS a result, the soldiers retreated leaving behind their vehicles and weapons.
(Image courtesy wikimedia.org)

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Iraq prison breakout – 40 killed, many terrorists escape

#Khalis #ISIS #Iraq #Baghdad #Diyala #PrisonBreak The Khalis prison in Diyala province of Iraq witnessed a prison breakout when nearly forty inmates, some of them convicted of terrorism charges, escaped during a riot in which at least six police officers and 30 prisoners were killed. Khalis is located 50 miles north of Baghdad.
This has been reported in foxnews.com of 9 May 2015.

The figures of toll in the violence is not confirmed because two provincial police officials and a medical official put the toll at death of 51 inmates and 12 policemen and the number of inmates who escape was in the region of 200. The official version as indicated by Brig. Gen. Saad Maan Ibrahim, the Interior Ministry spokesman, is that the death toll is 36, including six police officers and 30 prisoners, and said 40 inmates escaped.
It seems a fight broke out among the inmates of the prison and when guards went to investigate, they were overpowered and their weapons were seized. Some of those who escaped were wanted on terrorism charges.
Security forces had cordoned off the area and were searching out the escaped inmates.
Islamic State group has described the incident as a coordinated operation that involved use of multiple explosives outside the prison. There were 30 Islamic State members among those who escaped.

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At least 1700 bodies in Tikrit mass graves – Iraqis mercilessly killed by ISIS

#Tikrit #ISIS #Baghdad #Iraq #CampSpeicher #massgraves After liberating Tikrtit from the hands of ISIS, mass graves of around 1700 Iraqi soldiers have been discovered as reported in edition.cnn.com dated 6 April 2015. There are believed to be at least 10 mass graves inside the presidential palace complex which was once the residences of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. The presidential complex had been converted to ISIS headquarters after the militants occupied the city. The soldiers have, most probably, been executed after they were captured in June outside Camp Speicher which is a fortified Iraqi base near Tikrit.

From reports of one of the survivors it seems the soldiers were herded inside the compound, separated into smaller groups, executed and buried in mass graves. Just how the Iraqi soldiers ended up in the hands of ISIS is a mystery but one version is that in June, some military units had been given orders to move to Camp Speicher. Another version is that the soldiers were told to leave the base and move closer to Baghdad and the soldiers left unarmed and in civilian clothes. However, military commanders and the Iraqi Defense Ministry have denied issue of any such orders. The official version is that the men had deserted.

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ISIS rampage continues – Saddam Hussein’s burial place now a heap of rubble

#tikrit #ISIS #iraq #ouja #saddamhussein The ISIS is determined to rewrite history and destroy every item that brings back memories, whether they are world heritage sites or the burial place of Saddam Hussein which is now a heap of rubble.
This has been reported in dailymail.co.uk dated 16 March 2015.
The burial place of Iraq's late dictator Saddam Hussein has been destroyed as a result of heavy clashes between ISIS militants and Iraqi forces in a fight for the control of the city of Tikrit which was Saddam Hussein’s hometown. As per reports, the fighting intensified to the north and south of Tikrit as Iraqi security forces took a decision to reach the center of Tikrit within 48 hours.
Video that has emerged from the village of Ouja, just south of Tikrit, reveals that all that nothing much remains of the once-lavish tomb. The only things that have been spared are the support columns that held up the roof. Poster-sized pictures of Saddam used to once be seen covering the mausoleum and those are nowhere to be seen. It is all a rubble of concrete.
It seems the IS militants have been in control of Tikrit since June last and had set up an ambush in the area for the Iraqis by planting bombs around the tomb and the result was the destruction.

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Another interesting blog - Citizen Journalist

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ISIS gets a taste of its own medicine - Iraqi forces turn the tables on them

#ISIS #tikrit #iraq #martindempsey #CampSpeicher From videos in the social media it appears that ISIS is getting a taste of their own medicine as the advancing Iraqi forces torture, behead and kill ISIS militants in revenge attacks s reported in dailymail.co.uk dated 13 March 2015.
These are believed to be recent images posted on social media reportedly by U.S.-trained Iraqi Special Forces who are advancing against jihadi strongholds. In the videos, there are numerous pictures of severed heads and mutilated bodies. And, these are said to be revenge for the massacre by ISIS of hundreds of military cadets at a base near Tikrit called Camp Speicher in last June.
Such heinous acts constitute Iraqi war crimes and officials of the US are believed to be withholding funds to some of the Iraqi units based on credible information in the past of such atrocities. An Iraqi Army spokesperson has indicated that an investigation would be launched into the allegations.
As revealed by US General Martin Dempsey, nearly 20,000 militiamen may be involved in the ongoing Tikrit operations. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, on his part, has called upon his forces to protect civilians and their property in areas that have been reclaimed from ISIS and has vowed zero tolerance for any violations.
Amnesty International, on its part, has cautioned that it was still too early to tell if Tikrit had been a cleaner operation than usual.

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Iraqi forces retake Salahudin province from ISIS

#Salahudin #ISIS #Tikrit #Iraq #Humvee #Baghdad The ISIS had captured the Salahudin province on 11 June last year and Iraqi forces have now retaken it and driven out the militants as reported in zeenews.india.com dated 3 March 2015. The Iraqi troops and allied Sunni and Shia militias, with the necessary air support, has successfully freed the town of Himreen. The IS militants were forced to flee from the town after a heavy clash that killed at least three of them. Five security members were injured. As per reports, the troops were able to foil two suicide bomb attacks - one of these was a booby-trapped tanker truck and the other a Humvee vehicle.
The liberation of Himreen is seen as a major achievement after an offensive was launched from five directions – the objective was to recapture key cities and towns that had been seized by the IS in the Salahudin province.
It seems the troops, backed by armored vehicles and Iraqi aircraft, have surrounded the town of Dour, located nearly 25-Km south of Tikrit, and has been able to regain control of many villages north of Samarra, some 120-Km north of Baghdad.
The forces have to advance with due care because the IS militants have planted bombs on the roads and buildings. So far, explosion experts have successfully defused over 150 bombs and eight car bombs.

Another interesting blog - Citizen Journalist

Another interesting blog - Ramblings

Iraq launches offensive against ISIS to recapture in Tikrit

#ISIS #Tikrit #Mosul #Iraq #HaideralAbadi #Baghdad Tikrit, the hometown of Saddam Hussein, lies 150-Km north of the capital Baghdad and had been seized by IS militants in June 2014. Iraq has now launched a military offensive against ISIS with the purpose of recapturing the city. This has been reported in bbc.com dated 2 March 2015.
As per reports, Iraqi forces were carrying out the attack backed by airstrikes from Iraqi fighter jets.
It seems Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi had met military leaders in Salahuddin province before start of the operation and had offered pardon to all Sunni tribal fighters who abandoned IS. He described it as a "last chance". In February itself he had indicated that Iraqi armed forces would be launching a major offensive "in a few months' time" to retake the city from IS militants.
Observers feel that retaking Tikrit would be a boost to government forces before they undertake the larger battle of retaking the city of Mosul, which is also controlled by IS. While attacks have been launched, there is no confirmation of the advances, if any, made by the forces.
Tikrit, the hometown of former President Saddam Hussein, was the second major gain for IS after they had captured the city of Mosul in June last year. Incidentally, Mosul was home to over a million people when it fell to IS.

Another interesting blog - Citizen Journalist

Another interesting blog - Ramblings