ALBU AJIL: Thousands of Iraqi troops and militiamen laid siege to jihadist fighters holed up in Tikrit on Thursday, wary of rushing into streets littered with bombs and infested with snipers.

After making major gains in and around the city on Wednesday, commanders were confident that Baghdad’s biggest victory yet against the self-styled Islamic State (IS) group was only a matter of time.

“Now we are moving to the second phase of our plan,” Defence Minister Khaled al-Obeidi told reporters in Salaheddin province, of which Tikrit is the capital.

“We are very keen for our losses to be as low as possible. Time is on our side, we have the initiative,” he said on the 11th day of the offensive.

None of the fighting forces involved has provided casualty figures since the start of the operation to wrest back Tikrit, the largest since IS captured the city nine months ago.

Dozens of bodies are being driven south to Baghdad and Najaf almost every day, however, and, while government forces have had the upper hand, IS has done damage with suicide car bombs, booby traps and snipers.

“We don’t want to be rushed because we want to avoid casualties,” police Staff Major General Bahaa al-Azzawi said in Albu Ajil, a village from which Tikrit can be seen across the Tigris river. “Tikrit is sealed off from all sides,” he said.

Published in Dawn, March 13th, 2015

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