U.S. fears Iran military influence growing in Iraq

Jim Michaels | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Raw: Iraq launches Tikrit operation against IS Iranian state television on Monday aired footage of Iraqi military forces launching a large-scale military operation to recapture Saddam Hussein's hometown from the Islamic State extremist group. (March 2)

WASHINGTON — Iran's military is playing a significant role in helping Iraq drive the Islamic State from Saddam Hussein's hometown, raising U.S. concerns about growing Iranian influence and increased sectarian tensions in Iraq.

Iran provides artillery and other support for a military offensive in Tikrit, according to a senior U.S. military official. He did not want to be named because he is not authorized to speak publicly about Iran's role.

The United States conducts airstrikes daily in Iraq and Syria and has provided Iraq's military with ammunition and weapons to fight the Islamic State. Iraq did not ask for U.S. airstrikes to support the Tikrit operation, said Col. Steve Warren, a Pentagon spokesman.

The United States has long been worried about Iran's sway over Iraq, since both countries have Shiite majorities. It fears a rekindling of violence between Iraq's Shiites and Sunnis.

Tikrit is a stronghold of Iraq's Sunnis and the onetime base of Saddam, the late dictator hanged in 2006 after being captured by U.S. troops during the Iraq War. He ruled a Sunni government that suppressed the country's Shiite majority during his long reign.

Since Saddam's ouster, Sunnis have felt alienated from the Shiite-dominated central government and have been targets of violent Shiite militias. When the Islamic State, a Sunni group, seized large areas of Iraq last year, many Sunni residents welcomed it.

Since then, Iraq's government has worked to convince tribal sheiks and other Sunni leaders to turn on the Islamic State.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi renewed that appeal Sunday. "I call upon those who have been misled or committed a mistake to lay down arms and join their people and security forces in order to liberate their cities," he said, according to the Associated Press.

If marauding Shiite militias enter Tikrit, they could drive Sunnis back into the hands of the Islamic State, since Sunni leaders oppose the militias. The operation also poses the risk of high civilian casualties because Iraqi and Iranian forces have not been as precise as U.S. forces in using air power against the militants.

Iraqi forces do not appear to be ready to assault the center of Tikrit, 80 miles north of Baghdad.

The military commander of the Salahuddin region, Gen. Abdul-Wahab al-Saadi, told state television the operation was "going on as planned," as fighting takes place outside Tikrit, mainly on its eastern side, the AP reported.

The United States leads a coalition of nations conducting airstrikes against the Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria. The United States has dispatched about 3,000 troops to Iraq, including hundreds of trainers who are attempting to rebuild the nation's military after last year's rout at the hands of the militants.

The Tikrit offensive will be a test for the more difficult task of liberating Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city, from militant control.

U.S. officials expect that operation to begin in April or May, but the date could change based on the readiness of Iraq's military, which is committing 20,000 to 25,000 troops to the Mosul offensive.