Iraq did not request U.S. support for Tikrit offensive

“Iraq didn’t request our support for it,” said Pentagon spokesman Col. Steve Warren.

Warren left open the possibility that American drones were being used to provide surveillance of the mission but would not confirm their use.

The operation was striking in its lack of U.S. involvement compared to the close level of detail and timeframe of the potential follow-on mission against the Islamic State in Mosul.

Warren said he could not provide any of the “low-level details” of the operation, including addressing reports that Iranian forces were supporting Shi’ite militias and Iraqi forces in the attack, a possible reason that U.S. forces were not involved.

“We’re aware there’s great Iranian interest in Iraq in the fight against” the Islamic State, Warren said. “I’m not going to speak to detail of Iranian involvement.”

Overnight Sunday, Iraqi forces supported by Shi’ite militias attacked Islamic State forces ensconced in Tikrit, the birthplace of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. Unlike other recent military operations in the country, U.S. and coalition airstrikes were not part of the attack and did not provide overhead support, according to Pentagon officials.

The city, which fell to the Islamic State last June, is an important step to retaking the larger city of Mosul. Tikrit is about halfway between Baghdad and Mosul, and is needed as a hub for Iraqi forces.

Iraq’s prime minister, Haidar al-Abardi, announced the attack on Sunday at a press conference, warning Sunnis who had joined the Islamic State to abandon their weapons. He offered them amnesty if they joined Iraq in its fight against the Islamic State, according to news reports.

In recent days the Pentagon has backed off earlier statements that Iraqi forces trained by the U.S. would be ready for the larger offensive to retake Mosul in April or May, and now say it is more likely that any offensive would likely be delayed until the fall.