Iraqi forces have made progress in the fight to regain Tikrit from the Islamic State. Combined forces have joined Iraq in pushing back ISIS, as a result, the city’s hospital was reclaimed on Wednesday.
The hospital is a strategically and symbolically important victory for the coalition against the Islamic State. Sunni militants, Shi’ite militants, and Iraqi military forces have joined to make a militia of 30,000. The fighters have waged a weeklong attack on Tikrit from all sides. Militants could be seen raising an Iraqi flag over the hospital on Wednesday.
In addition, Iran has contributed to the effort against the Islamic State by supplying advisers and military equipment to the Iraqi forces. The situation has U.S. officials both hopeful and uneasy. Iran’s contribution will be effective in stopping ISIS from creating a caliphate, but the United States officials are uncertain of how Iran may act if ISIS is defeated.
Tikrit, the birthplace of Saddam Hussein, was overtaken by the IS in June. Iraqi forces are pushing back the Islamic State militants at a rate of one street every thirty minutes, says an Iraqi military official.
While the fight for Tikrit was occurring, IS forces unleashed a massive attack on the city of Ramadi, which is west of Baghdad. It is reported that the Islamic State has launched at least 150 mortar rounds as well as employed the use of more than a dozen suicide car bombings at key checkpoints throughout the city. Allegedly, 10 Iraqi soldiers died as a result of these attacks, but the actual number of casualties may be far higher. Residents of the city are under strict curfew.
ISIS has steadily lost ground to the combined forces of Iraq as well as Kurdish defense forces and U.S.-led airstrikes. Many believe that the attack on Ramadi is a direct response to the battle for Tikrit.
