IS militants in Iraq blow upTikrit’s only bridge over the Tigris river

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tigris river bridge tikit

The Islamic State group blew up the only bridge over the Tigris river in the entire Tikrit area Tuesday as Iraqi forces continued to seal off the city, security sources said.

“The bridge was blown up by Daesh,” a police colonel said, using an Arab acronym for the jihadist organisation.

“A whole segment at the western end of the bridge collapsed.” An army lieutenant colonel said, “Their goal is to slow the advance of Iraqi troops because the bridge is the only way into Tikrit from the east.”

The village of Albu Ajil, which Iraqi forces retook on Sunday, is on the eastern side of the river, as is the town of Al-Alam, where jihadist fighters expelled from rural areas have been regrouping.

Ad-Dawr, the other town where IS fighters have been trying to resist the huge operation launched on March 2 to retake Tikrit, lies south of the city on the eastern bank of the Tigris.

Commanders from the army and the government-controlled Popular Mobilisation units have been closing in on the three urban centres over the past week.

They have said their goal was to lay siege to Tikrit, a Sunni city about 160km (100 miles) north of Baghdad which has been under IS control for nine months.

The city, which is the home town of former president Saddam Hussein, is the toughest target for the government troops and allied militias that started winning back lost ground last year.

The operation initially involved 30,000 men backed by Iraqi aircraft. The IS is believed to have only a few hundred men inside Tikrit, but government forces have said their advance has been slowed by large numbers of roadside bombs and booby traps planted by the jihadists all around the city.

 

Times of India

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9 responses to “IS militants in Iraq blow upTikrit’s only bridge over the Tigris river”

  1. 5thDrawer Avatar
    5thDrawer

    Well, it’s the only way OUT, if it’s the only way in. 😉 Leave a guy with a radio or cell-phone to watch it, and send everyone else to the other side. :-)))

    1. Michaelinlondon1234 Avatar
      Michaelinlondon1234

      I am surprised they have not blown the dams yet.

      1. 5thDrawer Avatar
        5thDrawer

        They are being watched on that gambit now … apparently tried to dig a ditch to circumvent one … ‘we’ stoppered that attempt too.

        1. Michaelinlondon1234 Avatar
          Michaelinlondon1234

          They should have blown the one in the north of Iraq when they had the chance.
          I do like micro dams. I am surprised Lebanon has not built in the eastern mountains small ones. Even if the silt up they would act as water sinks.

          1. 5thDrawer Avatar
            5thDrawer

            Lebanon .. so many ‘plans’ for it’s water you wouldn’t believe.
            Or, you might, if you see the ‘Baabda Dialogues’ …. hehehehe
            Meanwhile, anything below the 10,000 ft. level is polluted …

          2. Michaelinlondon1234 Avatar
            Michaelinlondon1234

            I did read about one new sewage works 2 years ago built by France/Lebanon that sounded good.

          3. 5thDrawer Avatar
            5thDrawer

            Yes Mike … that one .. I agree, good …. ‘test results’ are not in yet. Some things take time … usually the good things.

          4. “Some things take time … usually the good things.”

            You’ve had PLENTY of time on this earth but you are still shite

          5. “(yah .. there was a liberal response … ‘save those poor crocs’”

            You are a real piece of shite work aren’t you!!
            So saving animals, especially ones that might become extinct, is only for “liberals”!
            You disgust me more and more!

            No shame!

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