A U.S.-led coalition began airstrikes on the embattled Iraqi city of Tikrit on Wednesday to support an Iraqi ground offensive that has struggled to retake the city from Islamic State (ISIS) fighters.
The strikes were at the request of Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, according to statement from the Combined Joint Task Force responsible for the coalition operation in Iraq and Syria.
"These strikes are intended to destroy ISIL strongholds with precision, thereby saving innocent Iraqi lives while minimizing collateral damage to infrastructure," said Lt. Gen. James L. Terry, the task force's commanding general, using another acronym for ISIS. "This will further enable Iraqi forces under Iraqi command to maneuver and defeat ISIL in the vicinity of Tikrit."
The Iraqi military launched a ground offensive in Tikrit earlier this month to retake the city from ISIS militants who have held it since June, but did not ask for coalition air support. The main government forces leading the battle on the ground are Shiite fighters known as the Popular Mobilization Units; they are backed by Iran, which trains and equips the group. The U.S. involvement in this particular operation raises questions about how closely the two estranged nations will be working together.
In an address Wednesday evening, Prime Minister al-Abadi predicted success in Tikrit.
"We have started the final phase of the operation in Tikrit," he said. "You will liberate your ground, not anyone but you," he said, speaking to the Iraqi people.
Iran has provided artillery and other weaponry for the Tikrit battle, and senior Iranian advisers have helped Iraq coordinate the offensive.
Recently, the offensive has lost momentum. Col. Steve Warren, a Pentagon spokesman, said Wednesday the Iraqi forces have encircled Tikrit but not yet made significant inroads into the heavily defended city limits.
"They are stalled," he said.
While the U.S. has been conducting strikes against ISIS targets in Syria and Iraq since August as part of a wider coalition, the U.S. has firmly said it is not coordinating any military actions with the Iranians.
Warren said that at Baghdad's request the U.S. began aerial surveillance over Tikrit in recent days and is sharing the collected intelligence with the Iraqi government.
But the growing Iranian presence on the ground has complicated the mission, with Washington refusing to work directly with a country it views as a regional menace, even as it is currently embroiled with Iran in sensitive negotiations over a nuclear deal.
The prominent role of the Shiite militias in the fight to retake Tikrit and other parts of Iraq's Sunni heartland has meanwhile raised concerns that the offensive could deepen the country's sectarian divide and drive Sunnis into the arms of the Islamic State group.
Additional information from The Associated Press.