New York Times: setback Iraqi army in Tikrit, reveals the urgent need for advisers

New York Times: setback Iraqi army in Tikrit, reveals the urgent need for advisers






07/20/20140 



The Iraqi troops and volunteers with her on the verge of declaring victory over insurgents in the city of Tikrit and raising the Iraqi flag on government buildings which, when opened by the "gates of hell" in the words of one of the survivors. It seems that the Iraqi forces had entered into an ambush - led to the death and injury of many volunteers is well trained - when suddenly appeared fighters of the Islamic State (formerly Daash), according to accounts of the soldiers and commanders of the volunteers who have been contacting them later.

This setback illustrates the urgent need for the Iraqi army to advisers. Weeks ago was the Americans ask Iraqi leaders not to fight for the city centers, but control of the roads and highways in order to prepare for the battle, but the fighters American's 300 advisors Intelligence Online in Iraq are not working directly with the pieces and the leaders in front.

This demonstrates the difficulty of the ambush undermine the gains obtained by Daash through June in Mosul and Tikrit. It also said the rebels had opened more fronts than it can for Iraqi forces to handle at once.

However, government forces have achieved some success in securing the outgoing road to Tikrit, it is clear that the military leaders who have entered the city - with the encouragement of politicians - eager to splurge recover.

After the bombing of the city on Tuesday, and the army declared that the invasion will be within hours, the army arrived and backers to the police academy, the hospital and the municipal building, according to the soldiers who took part in the fighting there. With air support and tanks, fighters retreated Daash I thought the security forces said the gunmen had left. I started a military group to defuse the explosive and dismantle traps dupes from the hospital and then received an order to raise the Iraqi flag on the surfaces of all the buildings, when he "opened the gates of hell," said the soldier (Ali) Armored Division, who was receiving treatment in hospital, "was the lead raining on our heads from Everywhere bombers throwing themselves out of windows and detonating in the air. "

It is inconceivable that the bombers actually jumps on soldiers in Jlathm, but it seems that he meant that they were attacking from all sides.

Ali adds, "Most of the victims of the volunteers who are unable to protect themselves, the soldiers could not defend themselves, each of us was trying to evacuate his companion."

Fighting eased after the withdrawal of troops and ended Wednesday morning when the helicopter ran out of fuel only provide air support was not being replaced quickly, according to the soldiers. Then withdrew troops and militias and volunteers to the outskirts of the city.

It is difficult to say whether an impact on the ability of the army in the retrieval of Tikrit, but it highlights the lack of readiness, and to pay the volunteers and sometimes disregard their lives, where it can affect the morale and the willingness of other young people to join them.

It is customary to ask for volunteers to work for several days at a temperature exceeding 110 degrees without enough water and with little food, as they have to equip themselves with the necessary materials for the soldier of releases and in some cases of weapons.

He says Abdullah Hassan of the area of ​​Hor Hussein in the province of Babylon, "We have weapons with older hardware is not enough, sometimes provide us with logistics but mostly we buy at our expense prices began to rise with the continuation of the war." Abdullah volunteered with his cousin and his father for more than three weeks after a call supreme religious authority, Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani who can bear arms for the defense of the country.

MP says of quitting from the Sadrist bloc, which organizes volunteers to defend the shrines and other, that the volunteers were sent to Tikrit fled to Samarra, where the Zamili coordinate the defense of the shrine military, says, "They came to complain that they were sent without training or equipment or wheels."

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