A Defense Department official said that U.S. warplanes are conducting "ongoing" airstrikes after the Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi requested aid, according to NBC News. Tikrit is the hometown of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.
"These strikes are intended to destroy ISIL (ISIS) strongholds with precision, thereby saving innocent Iraqi lives while minimizing collateral damage to infrastructure," said Lt. Gen. James L. Terry, the commanding general of the U.S.-led coalition against the Islamic State terrorists.
"This will further enable Iraqi forces under Iraqi command to maneuver and defeat (ISIS) in the vicinity of Tikrit," Terry said in a written statement.
The U.S. Defense Department admitted that the majority of forces trying to remove ISIS from Tikrit are Iranian-backed militia members, according to NBC News. The efforts to regain control of the city have slowed down to a crawl, but the task force reports that Iraqi-led forces have the city surrounded.
