This week Iraq’s armed forces initiated their assault on Tikrit, the hometown of Saddam Hussein, as part of a broader campaign that will target the country’s Sunni Arab heartlands to the north. It aims to retake the towns and cities that Isis took control of last year in June.

The fresh military campaign comes as momentum shifts against Isis. The jihadists suffered defeat in Kobane at the end of January in Syrian Kurdistan and continue to suffer losses and casualties in Iraq.

Isis has been unable to expand its territory in Iraq; its rivals are increasing and locals are becoming increasingly discontented with its rule. The organisation also thrives on sectarian polarisation but Iraq’s new government has been lauded for helping to stabilise, rather than exacerbate, sectarianism in the country.

Watch more

All this should be capitalised on. Isis must not be allowed to repair and rebuild. Iraq must go all-in as it attempts to retake its country from the jihadists and ensure they are not allowed to re-group and re-consolidate their grip.

Isis’ control of territory to the north is crucial for its survival, not just because it needs those territories to launch its attacks, mobilise locals and consolidate its hold, but because it prides itself on its control of territory stretching between Syria and Iraq, having declared its Caliphate straight after taking control of Mosul last year. In other words, Isis’ control of Iraqi territory became a symbol of its prowess and central to the organisation’s ability to sustain itself. Destroying its invincibility in this manner will go a long way towards destroying the organisation altogether.

Recent Iraqi history provides further reasons to be optimistic. When Isis took control of Mosul, in June 2014, there was much talk of irreparable degeneration and the division of the country. Yet, Iraq had been at the brink before – as a result of sectarian war and a resilient Sunni insurgency – and then recovered.

In pictures: Fight for Tikrit Show all 16 1 /16 In pictures: Fight for Tikrit In pictures: Fight for Tikrit Fight for Tikrit Shiite fighters pose in front of a mural depicting the emblem of the Islamic State group outside one of the presidential palaces in Tikrit, on April 1, 2015 Getty Images In pictures: Fight for Tikrit Fight for Tikrit Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi tours the city of Tikrit after it was retaken by the security forces in Baghdad, Iraq, on April 1 2015 AP In pictures: Fight for Tikrit Fight for Tikrit An Iraqi flag waves over the Tigris River om April 1 2015 AP In pictures: Fight for Tikrit Fight for Tikrit Iraqi security forces playing football in Tikrit after their country declared a 'magnificent victory' over the Islamic State group in the city on April 1 2015 Reuters In pictures: Fight for Tikrit Fight for Tikrit A member of the security forces holds Iraq’s national flag in front of a painted Isis emblem Getty Images In pictures: Fight for Tikrit Fight for Tikrit Iraqi security forces arrest a member of the Islamic State in Tikrit on April 1, 2015 Reuters In pictures: Fight for Tikrit Fight for Tikrit A member from the Iraqi security forces beats an Isis insurgent, who was captured in Tikrit Reuters In pictures: Fight for Tikrit Fight for Tikrit Shiite fighters from the Popular Mobilisation units celebrate in front of the the provincial council building inside the northern Iraqi city of Tikrit on March 31, 2015 Getty Images In pictures: Fight for Tikrit Fight for Tikrit Iraqi soldiers stand on a damaged tank during fighting against IS militants near Tikrit Corbis In pictures: Fight for Tikrit Fight for Tikrit Fighters of Iraqi Shiite militias who volunteered to support the Iraqi forces make their way towards Daquq town near Tikrit Corbis In pictures: Fight for Tikrit Fight for Tikrit Iraqi security forces and Shia fighters chant slogans as they gather at Udhaim dam, north of Baghdad, where they have been massing in preparation for an attack on Isis along the Tigris River Reuters In pictures: Fight for Tikrit Fight for Tikrit Pro-government volunteer Shia fighters in Awaynat near Tikrit AFP/Getty In pictures: Fight for Tikrit Fight for Tikrit Iraqi government forces and allied militias firing weaponry from a position in the northern part of Diyala AFP In pictures: Fight for Tikrit Fight for Tikrit A volunteer in the Iraqi Shiite Badr Army militia taking up position outside Tikrit Corbis In pictures: Fight for Tikrit Fight for Tikrit Volunteers of the Iraqi Shiite Badr Army militia patrol an area at eastern Tikrit city Corbis In pictures: Fight for Tikrit Fight for Tikrit Members of the Iraqi security forces coming from the city of Samarra drive towards al-Dawr south of Tikrit to launch an assault against the Islamic State AFP/Getty

This recovery followed the deployment of additional US forces in Iraq as part of what became known as “the surge”, as well as the “Sunni Awakening”, which saw Iraq’s Sunni Arab tribes and other Sunni actors cooperate with the Iraqi government and the US, and helped pave the way for their integration into the new Iraq.

Crucially, this came after the Sunni insurgency suffered heavy losses during its 2006 conflict with Iraq’s Shia community and at the hands of US forces. It was forced into retreat after realising the new Iraq and its political process was here to stay. Just as the Sunni insurgency was (of which Isis is a re-branded version), Isis can also be contained, forced to disintegrate and then, eventually, eliminated. Its resilience requires a sustained military campaign, as opposed to a half-hearted military effort.

That said, the military campaign is one part of the solution but an important one as it makes clear the new Iraq and its political order is here to stay. The other part requires, firstly, sustaining ongoing efforts toward reconciliation, the reconstitution of the Iraqi army and integrating Iraq’s Shia paramilitary groups into the armed forces. Iraqi Prime Minister, Haider Al-Abadi, must stay true to his word and punish those Shia actors responsible for sectarian massacres.

Secondly, Iraq’s Sunni actors, who have fought and continue to fight Isis, must be empowered. They exist but lack the resources and support to challenge Isis. Providing them with these could work against the Iraqi government in the future, as indeed may the creation of autonomous Sunni regions, but that might be a risk worth taking, as something must give way in order to save and sustain Iraq.