ISIS Snipers Slow Iraqi Offensive Against Tikrit

Iraqi Forces Still Claim 'Gaining Ground'

Iraqi forces are being typically light on details about their ongoing offensive against the ISIS-held city of Tikrit, except to say that they believe they are “gaining ground.”

Despite claiming a 30,000-strong force, the Iraqi forces aren’t overwhelming ISIS, and the indications are that ISIS snipers and booby traps are keeping the process going extremely slowly.

Reports out of ISIS are also claiming at least one major suicide truck bombing, near the city of Samarra, which killed dozens of Iraqi troops. The suicide bomber was said to be American.

Iraqi forces had previously attacked Tikrit in early summer, claiming repeatedly for weeks that they had either retaken the city or were about to retake it. Ultimately, they fled, and the city remained in ISIS hands.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.