US officials: Iran's militias just failed in Iraq because they can't shoot or coordinate

Business Insider ^ | 04/02/2015 | Jeremy Bender

[SeekAndFind]

After a nearly month-long assault on the Iraqi city of Tikrit by the Iraqi military and Iranian-backed Shiite militias, the city was finally retaken from ISIS.

Recapturing Saddam Hussein's hometown was expected to only take a few days, but ISIS (aka Islamic State, or Daesh) laid a bunch of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) that shredded Shia militiamen.

And there was another problem, according to US officials: The Iranian-backed militias couldn't shoot very well.

"U.S. officials assessed that the Iranian-backed assault on Tikrit was failing because of the inaccuracy of Iranian artillery and the failure of the Tehran-backed militias to respond to orders or coordinate their movements with the Iraqi security forces nominally leading the fight," The Wall Street Journal reports.

Tikrit was only successfully retaken once the US started conducting airstrikes against the militants, which effectively sidelined the Shiite militias. Three militias explicitly linked to Iran, the Asaib Ahl al Haq, the Hezbollah Brigades, and the Badr Corps, withdrew their troops from the front lines following the US intervention. The original offensive included 25,000 to 30,000 Shia militiamen.

Other Shiite militias that remained alongside the Iraqi Army after the airstrikes were identified by the US as potential partners in the fight against ISIS. Those militias, which supposedly aren’t beholden to Iran, number at least 4,500 fighters.

According to the WSJ, the US deliberately used airstrikes in Tikrit "to drive a wedge between Iran and Iraq" while becoming more effective partners with Iraqi-led Shiite militias.

[SJackson]

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I've read different versions of this, many noting that the Iraqi Army taking Tikrit are mostly Sadr militias. We must know, obviously not making it clear

[odds]

“”U.S. officials assessed that the Iranian-backed assault on Tikrit was failing because of the inaccuracy of Iranian artillery”

Nothing to worry about then re their nuke program. Should they use it, it’ll end up in their own backyard.

[BeauBo]

“I’ve read different versions of this, many noting that the Iraqi Army taking Tikrit are mostly Sadr militias”

Sadr was the last to send any militia, and the first to pull out. They have not been a big factor.

The major militias involved have been the ones that used to be called Iranian Special Groups, the Asaib Ahl al Haq, the Hezbollah Brigades, and the Badr Corps. Although they are composed of Iraqis, they are loyal to Iran when Iran needs something. They were particularly active in killing American soldiers, and murdering/torturing Sunnis right after the 2003 liberation, and during the sectarian violence of 2006-7.

They have significant portfolios within the Iraqi Government, long running and corruptly milking the Ministries of Finance and Interior.

Badr Corps (or Badr Brigades as they are sometimes known) has consolidated control over Diyala Province in Iraq, along the Iranian border, just South of the Kurdish areas. They are making it into their safe haven, like the Bekaa Valley was made for Hizbullah in Lebanon. When they cleared ISIS out, they also ethnically cleansed Sunnis from Diyala, and destroyed their houses so they don’t come back. THe 5th Army Division of the Iraqi Army, which is based in Diyala, has also been packed with Badr loyalists up and down the chain of command.