Iraq Begins Offensive to Recapture Tikrit From ISIS
The Iraqi military, alongside thousands of Shiite militia fighters, began a large-scale offensive on Monday to retake the city of Tikrit from the Islamic State, a battle that could either deepen the country’s bloody sectarian divide or become a pivotal fight in the campaign to reclaim north and west Iraq.
Iraqi state television announced the beginning of the offensive Monday morning, a day after Haider al-Abadi, the Iraqi prime minister, visited the forces massed on Tikrit’s outskirts and delivered a speech in which he said “zero hour” for the liberation of Tikrit was at hand.
While visiting Samarra, a town near Tikrit, on Sunday, Mr. Abadi promised amnesty to local residents who had been forced to join the Islamic State, but said it was the “last chance for them” to lay down their arms and assist the security forces in pushing out the militants.