US general to raise concerns about Iran’s involvement in Iraq

Iraq's offensive to retake Tikrit from ISIL is being directed by military advisers from Iran, without air support from the US-led anti-ISIL coalition.

The top US military officer says he will raise concerns about Iran’s involvement in the offensive to retake Tikrit in talks with Iraqi leaders in Baghdad.

Gen Martin Dempsey’s comments reflect fears among Arab members of the US-led international coalition. The assault to push ISIL from mainly Sunni Tikrit, launched last Monday, consists mainly of Iraqi Shiite militias.

It is being directed by military advisers from Shiite-majority Iran, without air support from the anti-ISIL coalition.

Victory for the Iraqi forces in Tikrit, which Gen Dempsey said was only a matter of time despite fierce resistance, could lead to reprisals against Sunni civilians by the Shiite militia, as has been reported elsewhere in Iraq.

It could also further inflame sectarian tensions that helped ISIL to capture large areas in the north and west of the country.

“The important thing about this operation in Tikrit is less about how the military aspect of it goes and more about what follows,” Gen Dempsey said.

He said the Tikrit assault had only been made possible by the aerial campaign in other areas of Iraq, which weakened ISIL and forced it to cede areas it captured last June.

In the latest setback for ISIL, Iraqi government forces and Sunni tribesmen retook the town of Al Baghdadi in the western province of Anbar on Friday, close to an airbase where US military advisers are stationed.

Meanwhile, UAE F-16 fighter jets deployed in Jordan carried out airstrikes against ISIL on Friday night.

The jets struck ISIL positions along oil pipes to cut off funding to the terrorists. They hit their targets and returned to base, the state news agency Wam reported.