U.S. Airstrikes on ISIS Conducted in Tikrit
American warplanes began airstrikes against Islamic State positions in Tikrit late Wednesday, entering an offensive to retake the city for the first time since its start more than three weeks ago.
A coalition of Shiite militias and Iraqi security forces aided by Iranian military advisers have been trying to root out Islamic State fighters from Tikrit, an important city north of Baghdad in Iraq’s Sunni heartland. From the start, the offensive went without American air assistance — government and militia officials had boasted that airstrikes were neither needed nor wanted, and American officials privately expressed discomfort with the idea of directly aiding an operation led by militias and Iranian officials.
But in recent days, as the militants have continued to hold out in central areas of the city, Iraqi military officials have said that airstrikes would be needed to fully secure Tikrit — despite rebukes by Shiite militia commanders.
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http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/26/world/middleeast/iraq-islamic-state-tikrit-united-states-airstrikes.html?emc=edit_na_20150325
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