(New York Times) Rod Nordland and Suadad Al-Salhy - Independent sources confirmed that an Iraqi Army counteroffensive had driven ISIS militants from the center of Tikrit, the birthplace of Saddam Hussein, with a largely Sunni population of 250,000. "There is a very big change in the performance of the security forces, and now we can say the initiative is in the hands of the Iraqi forces," said Ahmed al-Sheraifi, a former air force pilot and now a professor at Baghdad University. He attributed the improved performance to intelligence support by American drones, as well as to American advice on tactics. "The security forces began relying on their airborne division, and this is a trademark of U.S. tactics," he said.
2014-06-30 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive