Dubai: Iraqi forces pressed their offensive against Daesh on Friday, expecting to reach the outskirts of the militant-held city of Tikrit, a day after the extremists reportedly “bulldozed” a famed archaeological site in the area.
In Paris, the head of the UN’s cultural agency said the deliberate destruction of cultural heritage — such as the latest rampage at Iraq’s archaeological site of Nimrud — amounts to a “war crime.” The discovery of the treasures of Nimrud’s royal tombs in the 1980s is considered one of the 20th century’s most significant archaeological finds. It dates back almost 3,000 years and has been compared to King Tutankhamun’s tomb in Egypt.
Meanwhile, Iraqi forces and Iran-backed militiamen entered a town on the southern outskirts of Tikrit yesterday.
Military commanders said the army and mostly Shiite militia forces had retaken the town of Al Dour on Tikrit’s outskirts, known outside Iraq as the area where executed former dictator Saddam Hussainwas found hiding in a pit near a farm house in 2003.
The battle to wrest Tikrit from Daesh is a major test for the Iraqi forces and allied Shiite militias fighting on their side.
Salah Al Deen Governor Raed Al Jabouri said that Iraqi forces still have not made it to Tikrit’s east airport as some reports have suggested.
Prime Minister Haider Al Abadi moved to quell concerns of sectarian-fuelled retribution against civilians, urging troops “to respect human rights and preserve [civilian] property.”
He assured UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in a telephone conversation that authorities would “punish any transgression against civilians in the areas of military operation.”
In Washington, a research report released showed at least 46,000 Twitter accounts have been linked to supporters of the Daesh in late 2014.
The study released by the Brookings Institution found that even though many accounts were suspended by the messaging platform, the numbers remained high.
