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Battle of Tikrit

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Battle of Tikrit
Part of the 2014 Iraq conflict

Looking north along the Tigris towards Saddam's Presidential palace
Date26–30 June (4 days)
LocationTikrit, Iraq
Result

Insurgent victory

  • Iraqi government attack on Tikrit repelled
Belligerents

Republic of Iraq

Islamic State[3]

Islamic Army in Iraq[5]

Iraqi Ba'ath Party Loyalists[7][8][9]

Casualties and losses
Unknown number of killed
2 helicopters shot down and 1 damaged		 215+ killed (government claim)[12][13][14][15][16]


The Battle of Tikrit was a battle for the city of Tikrit following the town's capture by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant during the 2014 Northern Iraq offensive.

The battle[]

On 26 June, Iraqi government forces launched an airborne assault on Tikrit with three[17] or four[18] commandos helicopters flown into in a stadium at the city's university. One of the helicopters was shot down and crash-landed at the stadium,[17] while another had to conduct an emergency landing after suffering a mechanical failure. The crew of the second helicopter, which included a Lebanese pilot, was then captured by insurgents.[18] Fierce fighting then ensued around the university compound, while Army snipers positioned themselves on tall buildings in the university complex.[17] In the early hours of the assault, a helicopter gunship struck the city's hospital compound.[19] By the next day, sporadic clashes continued at the university[20] as Iranian-trained Shiite militiamen were dispatched and managed to seize control of tall buildings in the university area.[21]

On 28 June, helicopter gunships conducted dawn air strikes against insurgents who were attacking troops at the university campus.[22] By this point, the city had been coming under continuous air strikes for three days, which included barrel bombs.[18] An all-out ground offensive was launched during the day in an attempt to capture the city. A column of troops started out from Samarra towards Tikrit to the north and by sundown had reached the edge of the city. Another column was directed towards the Camp Speicher air base. There were initial claims by government sources of capturing Tikrit,[23] however, heavy fighting continued to rage on the city outskirts during the night but Tikrit itself remained under insurgent control.[24][25] In the evening, helicopters struck a gathering of people preparing for a wedding ceremony in the village of Al Bu Hayazi, east of Tikrit, killing four civilians.[26]

The next day, troops pulled back away from Tikrit to the nearby town of Dijla, south of the city, after meeting stiff resistance, in an attempt to regroup.[27] Fighting also continued near the university and clashes raged around the air base,[28] which had reportedly come under army control.[29] During the day's battles, another Iraqi army helicopter was shot down over the city and crashed near a market,[30] while the army sent tanks to join the fighting at the university. An Iraqi army spokesman claimed 70 militants had been killed in Tikrit in the previous 24 hours and that the government forces were in control of the university. Both of the claims were not independently confirmed.[12] Later, fierce clashes were reported in an area about 20 kilometers from the city center, toward Samarra. Militants reportedly made an advance but were stopped about 10 kilometers south of Tikrit.[31] Meanwhile, five Su-25 attack aircraft, the first of several promised military deliveries from Russia, reached Baghdad by the end of the day.[32]

On 30 June, government forces attempted to move out of the air base and link up with troops at the university but failed after encountering heavy insurgent resistance in the al-Deum area.[33] Fighting continued on the southern outskirts of the city,[34] but the army's attempt to take back Tikrit had stalled.[35] A military spokesman said that government forces were massing in Samarra and would soon make another push to capture Tikrit.[36] Meanwhile, south of Tikrit, the army managed to recapture the town of Mukayshifah in fighting that an army spokesman claimed killed 40 ISIS fighters.[13]

Aftermath[]

On 3 July, an Iraqi Army spokesman claimed the military had regained control of the town of Awja, Saddam Hussein's birthplace, near Tikrit. However, later in the day, two battlefield commanders contradicted him and stated fighting was still continuing on the town's perimeter and in Awja itself.[37]

During this time, troops retreated from the University complex.[38]

On 15 July, the military launched a new assault on Tikrit from Awja.[39] Soldiers and militiamen quickly entered the city, as militants were reportedly retreating, and seized the city's hospital. Following this, the Iraqi government was preparing to declare victory in the battle for the city. However, ISIS militants sprung an ambush that had been prepared with suicide bombers reportedly leaping from windows into groups of soldiers.[40] Government troops retreated from the city before sunset four kilometers to the south under constant mortar and sniper fire.[41] Several security force's vehicles were seen abandoned, with at least one of them burnt out.[39] 52 soldiers and 40 militants were killed in the fighting.[15]

On 17 July, insurgents launched an assault on Camp Speicher, where an estimated 700 government soldiers and 150 Iranian or Iraqi Shiite militiamen were besieged following the failed attempt to send reinforcements to the air base.[42] The assault included snipers and suicide bombers and the militants quickly managed to reach the runway, at which point, Iraqi special forces joined the battle.[16] The base was bombarded and mortared all night and the next morning, according to the insurgents, Tikrit's residents and a Kurdish military officer, the fighting had stopped when the final pocket of government troops had collapsed, with all of the government forces ether killed, executed or captured.[42] At least 25–35 insurgents were also killed.[16][43] Iraqi forces attempted to save the base's aircraft by flying them out,[16] however, ISIS claimed 8–9 helicopters were destroyed on the ground or shot down, with several armored vehicles destroyed as well.[38] The Iraqi Army denied the alleged capture of the base with soldiers from the frontline reporting Speicher was still under their control,[43] with only three soldiers being killed[16] and one helicopter destroyed and two damaged.[44] A Tikrit resident also reported continued fighting around the base.[45] Two days later, the military reported Iraqi special forces had re-secured the base.[44]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ↑ "Iraq says slows Islamist rebel advance, regains some territory". 14 June 2014. http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKKBN0EO0LF20140614?irpc=932. 
  2. ↑ "Tony Blair: 'We didn't cause Iraq crisis". BBC. 15 June 2014. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-27852832. 
  3. ↑ http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/isis-declares-new-islamic-state-in-middle-east-with-abu-bakr-albaghdadi-as-emir-removing-iraq-and-syria-from-its-name-9571374.html
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Hassan, Hassan (17 June 2014). "More Than ISIS, Iraq's Sunni Insurgency". http://carnegieendowment.org/sada/2014/06/17/more-than-isis-iraq-s-sunni-insurgency/hdvi. Retrieved 20 June 2014. 
  5. ↑ "Islamic Army of Iraq founder: Isis and Sunni Islamists will march on Baghdad". The Daily Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iraq/10914567/Islamic-Army-of-Iraq-founder-Isis-and-Sunni-Islamists-will-march-on-Baghdad.html. Retrieved 27 June 2014. 
  6. ↑ IŞİD Nedir, IŞİD'in Hedefi Nedir, IŞID'i Kimler Destekliyor (in Turkish)
  7. ↑ "Iraq Crisis: Saddam Hussein's Generals Fighting with Jihadist ISIS Insurgency". International Business Times. 12 June 2014. http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/iraq-crisis-saddam-husseins-generals-fighting-jihadist-isis-insurgency-1452365. Retrieved 27 June 2014. 
  8. ↑ Sam Frizell (21 June 2014). "Iraqi Official: Sunni Insurgents, Baathists Fighting One Another". Time. http://time.com/2908431/sunni-isis-baathists-iraq/. Retrieved 27 June 2014. 
  9. ↑ Jacob Siegel. "Someone Is Spilling ISIS's Secrets on Twitter". The Daily Beast. http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/06/18/someone-is-spilling-isis-s-secrets-on-twitter.html. Retrieved 27 June 2014. 
  10. ↑ http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/19/world/middleeast/former-loyalists-of-saddam-hussein-crucial-in-helping-isis.html?hpw&rref=world&_r=0
  11. ↑ "Military council of the rebels starts setting governors on their captured cities". Osama Mahdi. http://www.elaph.com/Web/News/2014/6/913435.html. Retrieved 13 June 2014. 
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Isis declares ‘Caliphate’ expanding plans for holy war
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Iraqi army drives ISIL from town south of Tikrit
  14. ↑ Iraq Army Recaptures Saddam's Birthplace From ISIS Militants
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 "The insurgents reclaim Tikrit after powerful battles, and the government troops retreat". http://arabic.cnn.com/middleeast/2014/07/16/iraq-security-tikrit. Retrieved 16 July 2014. 
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 16.4 IS-led Militants Storm Iraqi Air Base near Tikrit
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 Iraq helicopter crashes in airborne commando assault on Tikrit
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 Iraq reports major effort to recapture Tikrit
  19. ↑ Hospital bombed as battle rages in Tikrit
  20. ↑ Baghdad fights for militant-held Tikrit
  21. ↑ Battle for Tikrit continues as Iraqi government pushes back against ISIS
  22. ↑ Iraq crisis: Helicopter gunships launch dawn air strikes on Isis-held Tikrit university campus
  23. ↑ Iraqi forces reportedly pull back from Tikrit amid fierce fighting with ISIS militants
  24. ↑ Iraqi Military Launches Offensive Against ISIS
  25. ↑ Iraq forces battle to claw back Tikrit from Sunni insurgents
  26. ↑ Iraqi army launches Tikrit assault to fight ISIS rebels
  27. ↑ Iraq crisis: Fresh clashes over Tikrit
  28. ↑ Iraqi security forces battle for Tikrit as ISIL declares new 'caliphate'
  29. ↑ Russian Jets and Experts Sent to Iraq to Aid Army
  30. ↑ Iraqi Army Retreats From Saddam's Hometown As Assault On ISIS Falters
  31. ↑ ISIS declares 'caliphate' stretching across Iraq and Syria
  32. ↑ Iraqi forces, ISIS fighters battle for Tikrit; Russian Sukhoi jets reach Baghdad
  33. ↑ Iraq army in tug-of-war fights with Sunni militants
  34. ↑ Iraq: ISIL stakes claim to caliphate amid clashes in Tikrit, Syria
  35. ↑ Baghdad's battle to drive Islamic militants from Tikrit stalls as caliphate declared
  36. ↑ ISIS Declares Caliphate As Iraq Fights To Retake Tikrit
  37. ↑ Army Struggles to Retake Strategic City of Tikrit
  38. ↑ 38.0 38.1 Islamic State overruns Camp Speicher, routs Iraqi forces
  39. ↑ 39.0 39.1 Iraqi forces withdraw from Tikrit after being dealt a blow by Islamic State
  40. ↑ For Iraq, Debacle in Tikrit as Forces Walk Into Trap Set by Militants
  41. ↑ Iraq forces withdraw from rebel-held Tikrit
  42. ↑ 42.0 42.1 Islamic State overwhelms Iraqi forces at Tikrit in major defeat
  43. ↑ 43.0 43.1 The Iraqi Army’s Alamo: Standoff in Tikrit
  44. ↑ 44.0 44.1 Iraqi military says it retakes control of key base in Tikrit
  45. ↑ Multiple bombings in Baghdad kill at least 27

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Coordinates: 34°36′09″N 43°41′00″E / 34.6025°N 43.6833°E / 34.6025; 43.6833

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