AP, Tikrit, Iraq :
In Iraq’s Tikrit, liberation from the Islamic State group comes at a heavy price, both in loss of life and in the sheer devastation the militants leave in their wake.
Much of Tikrit, Saddam Hussein’s hometown and once a bustling city north of Baghdad, now lies in ruins.
Islamic State extremists captured it during a blitz last June that also seized large chunks of northern and western Iraq, along with a huge swath of land in neighboring Syria.
After a nearly 10-month Islamic State occupation, it took Iraqi forces and their allies, including Iranian-backed Shiite militias, a month of ferocious street battles to win the city back. They declared victory in Tikrit on Wednesday, and U.S.-led coalition airstrikes also helped turn the tide in the final weeks of the battle.
Today, the houses that still stand are pocked with bullet holes and Tikrit’s streets are lined with potholes where mortars slammed down. The provincial headquarters in the downtown – now adorned with Shiite militia flags in place of the Islamic State group’s black banner – is burned from fire and damaged from heavy fighting.
On Friday, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi warned that the military will start arresting and prosecuting those who loot abandoned Tikrit properties. He also urged security forces to quickly ensure that normalcy is restored so that Tikrit’s residents, most of whom fled the Islamic State onslaught, can return home.
In Iraq’s Tikrit, liberation from the Islamic State group comes at a heavy price, both in loss of life and in the sheer devastation the militants leave in their wake.
Much of Tikrit, Saddam Hussein’s hometown and once a bustling city north of Baghdad, now lies in ruins.
Islamic State extremists captured it during a blitz last June that also seized large chunks of northern and western Iraq, along with a huge swath of land in neighboring Syria.
After a nearly 10-month Islamic State occupation, it took Iraqi forces and their allies, including Iranian-backed Shiite militias, a month of ferocious street battles to win the city back. They declared victory in Tikrit on Wednesday, and U.S.-led coalition airstrikes also helped turn the tide in the final weeks of the battle.
Today, the houses that still stand are pocked with bullet holes and Tikrit’s streets are lined with potholes where mortars slammed down. The provincial headquarters in the downtown – now adorned with Shiite militia flags in place of the Islamic State group’s black banner – is burned from fire and damaged from heavy fighting.
On Friday, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi warned that the military will start arresting and prosecuting those who loot abandoned Tikrit properties. He also urged security forces to quickly ensure that normalcy is restored so that Tikrit’s residents, most of whom fled the Islamic State onslaught, can return home.
