WASHINGTON // Iranian-backed Shiite militias have left the northern Iraqi city of Tikrit, a key condition demanded by the United States before it agreed to begin launching air strikes on the area.
It comes after a Baghdad offensive to retake the city from ISIL had come to a standstill in recent days.
Lloyd Austin, the top US general for the Middle East, appeared to stun senate armed services committee members with news of the withdrawal.
Senator John McCain began Thursday’s hearing by asking Gen Austin about the perceived 40,000 Shiite militia members in Tikrit, prompting a surprising response from the general that there were no Shiite militia in the city.
Gen Austin, who heads US central command, said that there are now about 4,000 Iraqi forces, commandos and police battling for Tikrit, and with American help, he believes the campaign to retake the city will move forward.
He told the committee that Iraqi leaders requested the US air strikes.
The battle for Tikrit is widely seen as a step toward the more difficult and potentially decisive battle to regain control of the larger city of Mosul.
Gen Austin said that he witnessed brutality by Shiite militias during his extensive experience of leading US and coalition forces in Iraq.
“I will not – and I hope we will never – coordinate or cooperate with Shiite militias,” he said, giving a blunt explanation for why the Iranian-led offensive had so far failed.
“[The] Iran approach was taken,” he said. “These forces obviously were not being controlled by the government of Iraq ... [they] “were poorly led.”
Asked if Iranian forces remained nearby Tikrit, Gen Austin said, “I’m sure they’re still in the area.” He said he believes they may be on the east side of the Tigris river, while Tikrit is on the west side.
Iran had been providing artillery and other weaponry for the Tikrit battle, and senior Iranian advisers, including the famed Quds Force general, Qassem Soleimani, had helped Iraq to coordinate the offensive.
US officials estimate that two-thirds of the ground troops involved were Shiite militiamen, while the others were made up of regular Iraqi army soldiers and Sunni tribal fighters.
The growing Iranian presence had complicated the mission, with Washington refusing to work directly with Tehran, even though it is currently involved in sensitive negotiations with Iran over a nuclear deal.
Gen Austin told the committee that whether or not a nuclear deal is reached, he still considers Iran the greatest regional threat.
The prominent role of the Shiite militias in the fight to retake Tikrit and other parts of Iraq’s Sunni heartland has also raised concerns that the offensive could deepen the country’s sectarian divide and drive Sunnis into the arms of ISIL.
ISIL seized the Sunni city – Saddam Hussein’s hometown – last summer during its rapid advance across northern Iraq.
It is deemed an important test of the ability of Iraq – with coalition support – to retake ground it ceded to ISIL last year. The US initially did not provide air support in Tikrit because Baghdad pointedly chose to partner with Iran instead in a battle that it predicted would yield a quick victory.
The US-led coalition conducted air strikes in 17 locations on Wednesday, hitting ISIL group checkpoints, buildings, staging areas and a command and control facility using fighter jets, bombers and drones.
* Associated Press
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