US launches air strikes against IS positions in Iraq
Attack follows a request by the Iraqi goverment
The US launched an air strike on Wednesday against ISIS militants in Iraqi city of Tikrit, the hometown of former dictator Saddam Hussein.
The attacks intends to destroy IS strongholds with precision
"Military operations in Tikrit started at around 9 pm local time by pounding Islamic State positions with artillery, mortars and Katyusha rockets," said provincial council member Hadi al-Khazraji.
US Army Lieutenant General James Terry pointed out on Tuesday that the strikes “are intended to destroy IS strongholds with precision, thereby saving innocent Iraqi lives while minimising collateral damage to infrastructure.”
The US army struck between six and 10 targets during the first day of the military intervention, supporting military forces on the ground.
This attack followed a request made by Iraq's PM Haider al-Abadi in order to get air support and recover the Iraqi city from the IS militias.
“We have started the operation's final phase in Tikrit”, said Iran's Prime Minister Mir-Hossein Mousavi in a discourse addressed to the nation on Wednesday night.
Meanwhile, a chief of Iraq's Shiite militias that are working together with Iran's forces to recover the city, commented on Wednesday that Iraqi security forces did not need US support and showed his opposition to the intervention.
“I assure you if we needed them, we would say we needed them. But we don’t need the American planes. Even if the government requested them, we did not," he added.