U.S. keeps close eye on Iran #39;s role in Iraq
U.S. intelligence says Iran-backed militias are helping lead an anti-ISIS offensive in Iraq. CNN #39;s Barbara Starr reports.
By: CNN
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U.S. keeps close eye on Iran's role in Iraq - Video
A Date With History: The 1st Infantry Division in Iraq
Dr. Paul Herbert, First Division Museum executive director, examines the United States Army #39;s role in the war in Iraq, Operation Iraqi Freedomfrom 2003 until American forces departed in 2011.
By: FirstDivisionMuseum
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A Date With History: The 1st Infantry Division in Iraq - Video
Video Muqtada Al-Sadr and the Battle for the Future of Iraq (Review)
See: http://amzn.to/1A5VkIj Muqtada Al-Sadr and the Battle for the Future of Iraq Are you preparing to buy a new Muqtada Al-Sadr and the Battle for the Future of Iraq for you newest leisure...
By: ANNISA FITRIA
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ABOARD A U.S. MILITARY AIRCRAFT The one-two punch of Iranian-back militias and Iraqi government troops is likely to prevail in the unfolding battle for Tikrit, but it would not have been possible if U.S. airstrikes had not tied down Islamic State fighters elsewhere in northern Iraq, the top U.S. general said.
Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was asked by reporters traveling with him from Washington to Iraq whether he believes the Islamic State group will be pushed out of Tikrit.
"Yeah, I do," he said. "The numbers are overwhelming."
Dempsey said about 23,000 Iranian-backed Shiite militiamen and Iraqi soldiers are involved in the offensive, compared to only "hundreds" of IS fighters.
The offensive is not what the Americans would consider textbook military tactics, he said, describing a hodge-podge of Iraqi Humvees, trucks and other vehicles surging toward Tikrit like rush hour on the Washington Beltway.
"I wouldn't describe it as a sophisticated military maneuver," he said.
Dempsey was flying overnight Friday to Iraq to meet with U.S. commanders and Iraqi government leaders.
His visit comes at an intriguing stage of the war to force the Islamic State group out of Iraq. Its fighters swept across much of northern and western Iraq last summer and now control numerous key cities, including Tikrit, which is the birthplace of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.
The U.S. and its allies have launched hundreds of airstrikes at IS targets since August and credits its attacks with halting the group's territorial advances. But in the Tikrit offensive, which began Monday, the U.S. is on the sidelines. It is watching as Iran asserts influence by providing training, weapons and leadership for Iraqi Shiite militias who are leading the charge on Tikrit.
Dempsey said he sees no evidence that the Iranian military is actually doing any of the fighting. They have improved the Iraqi militias' fighting capabilities, but their role also has raised worries among America's coalition allies, who include Gulf Arab nations who despise Iran.
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US general: Iraq will retake Tikrit with Iran's help, but then what?
Baghdad Islamic State militants "bulldozed" the renowned archaeological site of the ancient city of Nimrud in northern Iraq on Thursday using heavy military vehicles, the government said.
A statement from Iraq's Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities didn't elaborate on the extent of the damage, saying only that the group continues to "defy the will of the world and the feelings of humanity" with this latest act, which came after an attack on the Mosul museum just days earlier.
The destruction of the site of one of ancient Mesopotamia's greatest cities recalled the Taliban's annihilation of large Buddha statues in Afghanistan more than a dozen years ago, experts said.
Nimrud was the second capital of Assyria, an ancient kingdom that began in about 900 B.C., partially in present-day Iraq, and became a great regional power. The city, which was destroyed in 612 B.C., is located on the Tigris River just south of Iraq's second largest city, Mosul, which was captured by the Islamic State group in June.
The late 1980s discovery of treasures in Nimrud's royal tombs was one of the 20th century's most significant archaeological finds. After Iraq was invaded in 2003, archaeologists were relieved when they were found hidden in the country's central Bank in a secret vault-inside-a-vault submerged in sewage water.
The Islamic State extremists, who control a third of Iraq and Syria, have attacked other archaeological and religious sites, claiming that they promote apostasy. Earlier this week a video emerged on militant websites showing Islamic State militants with sledgehammers destroying ancient artifacts at the Mosul museum, sparking global outrage.
Last year, the militants destroyed the Mosque of the Prophet Younis or Jonah and the Mosque of the Prophet Jirjis, two revered ancient shrines in Mosul. They also threatened to destroy Mosul's 850-year old Crooked Minaret, but residents surrounded the structure, preventing the militants from approaching.
Iraq's national museum in Baghdad opened its doors to the public last week for the first time in 12 years in a move Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said was to defy efforts "to destroy the heritage of mankind and Iraq's civilization."
The Islamic State group has imposed a harsh and violent version of Islamic law in the territories it controls and has terrorized religious minorities. It has released gruesome videos online showing the beheading of captives, including captured Western journalists and aid workers.
A US-led coalition has been striking the group since August, and Iraqi forces launched an offensive this week to try to retake the militant-held city of Tikrit, on the main road linking Baghdad to Mosul.
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Iraq says Islamic State militants 'bulldozed' ancient site (+video)