Iraqi Forces Mobilize for Largest Offensive Yet Against ISIS

The Iraqi military, backed by Shia militias, launched a large-scale offensive on Monday to reclaim Tikrit from Islamic State militants, who overtook the central city last June.

A force of up to 30,000 soldiers and fighters is reportedly attacking Tikrit from different directions, backed by artillery and airstrikes by Iraqi fighter jets.

The extent of U.S. involvement in Monday’s offensive was unclear. However, the Combined Joint Task Force reported Sunday that a U.S.-led coalition launched seven air strikes against Islamic State militants over the weekend in both Iraq and Syria. In Iraq, the coalition used warplanes and drones to strike near Al Asad, Al Qaim, Kirkuk, and Mosul, destroying Islamic State tactical units, boats, a storage facility, buildings, and other targets, according to the statement.

According to Reuters, Iraq’s air force carried out strikes in support of the advancing ground forces who were being reinforced by troops and militia, known as Hashid Shaabi or Popular Mobilization units, from the neighboring eastern province of Diyala. Iraqi officials have also claimed that an estimated 700 to 1,000 Sunni tribal fighters are involved in the Tikrit operation.

The New York Times described the attack as “the boldest effort yet to recapture Tikrit and, Iraqi officials said, the largest Iraqi offensive anywhere in the country since the Islamic State took control of Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city, in June.”

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The Times added: