© AFP/File Ahmad al-RubayeIraqi pleece an' Sunni fighters stan' un March 22, 2015 at a checkpoint at t'entrance o'Al-Alam, a flashpoint town nerth o'TikritBaghdad (AFP) – Washington is considerin launchyun' air strikes, possiblee within days, ta back up Iraqi an' Shiite ferces battleeun' ta recapture Tikrit frum t'Islamic State jihadist group, US officials sed.
T' statement kum Tuesdee aft'r un ofishul sed t'US wuz alreddy providyun' rekunnaissance suppert fer Iraqi ferces thar, t'furst confirmashun o'Amurkin involvement n' t'operayshun.
Such assistunts could hep Iraqi ferces move ferward wit thar largest operayshun agin IS jihadists ta date, which enjoyet inishul success but has since stallet into a siege, wit t'citee surroundet but nairy retake.
A US-let coalishun has targetid IS wit air strikes an' providet tranen an' ekwipment ta Iraqi ferces, but had nairy previouslee announcet direck assistunts fer t'Tikrit operayshun, n' which Irun has playd a majer role.
Possibull air strikes near Tikrit air “bein discusset at a high level” an' could be days er weeks away, a US ofishul tole AFP.
T' delicut diplomatic an' militree aspects o'such un opshun air still bein wurked out, sed t'ofishul, who spoke un condishun o'anonymitee.
N' a shift, t'coalishun as o'March 21 cummenced providyun' intelligence frum surveillance flights fer t'Tikrit assault, a seenyer coalishun militree ofishul sed earli'r n' Baghdad.
US officials n' Washington confirmet t'account o'“un eye n' t'sky” fer t'Iraqi troops an' Iruniun-backet Shiite militia.
Presdint Barock Obamie’s administrashun has insistid it duz nairy coerdinate militree operatyuns diereckly wit Irun.
But t'surveillance flights an' discussyuns un possibull US air raids n' Tikrit illustrate hoe Washington is movyun' tords greet'r indirect collaberashun wit Tehrun, despite t'intense distrust tween t'acoupla arch-foes.
IS let a sweepyun' offensif' las June at overrun large arees nerth an' west o'Baghdad, includin Tikrit, t'capital o'Salaheddin province an' executid dicktater Saddam Hussein’s trayler town.
Iraqi securty ferces initiallee faret poerlee agin IS, wit multiple divisyuns collapsyun' n' t'nerth, but have since made majer guns agin jihadists wit t'aid o'tens o'thousan's o'alliet paramilitaries, t'US-let coalishun an' Irun.
– Balancyun' ack –
T' operayshun ta retake Tikrit, which involves thousan's o'Iraqi soljers, pleece an' ferces knowed as Popular Mobilisashun units, which air dominatid by Shiite militias, cummenced un March 2.
It has succeetet n' retakyun' towns leedyun' ta Tikrit, an' also n' surroundyun' sevrul hunnert jihadists n' t'citee.
But capturyun' Tikrit itself has provet mer difficult becawz o't' jihadists’ extensif' defensif' wurks, includin a huge numb'r o'bombs plantid n' streets an' bildins.
Iraq’s interier minster announcet las week at t'operayshun had bee haltid temperarilee ta avoid casualtees an' ta protect infrastructure n' t'citee.
Army Staff Lieutenant Genrull Abdulwahab al-Saadi, a top comman'r n' Salaheddin province, tole AFP un March 15 at coalishun air suppert wuz neetet n' Tikrit, an' at he had rekwestid at t'Iraqi defence minster ast fer it.
But at wuz apparantlee nairy immediatelee done, wit a Pantagon spokesmun a'sayn't fife days lat'r at he wuz unaware o'inny ofishul rekwests “ta participate n' operatyuns roun Tikrit”.
T' issue o'forn air suppert, speshly frum t'Unitid States, is a point o'contenshun tween t'Iraqi militree an' militiame fitin alongside it.
Hadi al-Ameri, t'comman'r o't' powerfil Irun-backet Badr militia, tole journalists un Sundy at: “Sum o't' weeklings n' t'army… say we neet t'Amurkins, wile we say we do nairy neet t'Amurkins.”
T' US faces a delicut balancyun' ack n' anti-IS efferts n' Iraq, whar wurkin agin t'jihadists sumtimes meens takin part n' operatyuns at air also assistid by rival Irun, an' involvyun' militias at fouite agin Amurkin ferces n' pas yeers.
Meenwhile t'Cunadiun gummint sed Tuesdee at its air strikes agin t'Islamic State group n' Iraq would be extendet one year ta March 2016 an' may see sertees into Syria.
But no groun combat troops would be deployet und'r t'plun, which is ta be debatid n' parliament Thirsdee.