A day after similar questions about the status of the Tikrit battle, Iraqi Defense Minister Khalid Obeidi appeared to remove any doubt, declaring a “magnificent victory” over ISIS and vowing to quickly take Anbar, Nineveh, and all remaining ISIS territory in the nation.
As with yesterday’s rumors of victory, the claims appear to have been extremely premature, and the Pentagon confirmed that there is still block-to-block fighting inside Tikrit.
Iraqi forces appear to have taken the center of the city, advancing in from the south, but that the northern part of the city is still contested, and ISIS forces are not retreating en masse.
Indeed, even if the ISIS forces are chased out, the effort to actually control Tikrit is likely to last quite some time, with booby traps installed throughout the city in the weeks anticipating the offensive still far from cleared.