AP ANALYSIS: US on sidelines of key Iraqi battle against IS
BAGHDAD (AP) — Iranian-backed Shiite militias and Sunni tribes have joined in the operation to retake Saddam Hussein's hometown from the Islamic State group, but the U.S.-led coalition has not./ The campaign for Tikrit is a dress rehearsal for the real contest: The fight to recapture Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city and the extremists' biggest stronghold. But can a large-scale ground offensive alone succeed, without U.S.-led air support? The Tikrit operation is aimed at stopping Islamic State fighters from closing in on Samarra, a Shiite ...
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