Special to WorldTribune.com

BAGHDAD — Iraq, despite foreign military support, continues to struggle against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

Officials said more than 5,000 troops have tried to invade the capital of the northern province of Salah Eddin, captured by ISIL on June 11.

The officials said the Iraq Army force was backed by U.S.-origin main battle tanks, artillery and attack helicopters in the mission to drive ISIL out of Tikrit.

“They are advancing slowly because all of the houses and burned vehicles
have been rigged with explosives, and militants have deployed lots of
roadside bombs and car bombs,” Salah Eddin Gov. Ahmed Juburi said.

In a statement that contradicted claims of victory by the Iraqi
military, Juburi said Army units were still on the outskirts of Tikrit. The
governor said an operation to penetrate the city could take days.

Officials said ISIL and Sunni rebel allies have continued their drive
toward Baghdad. They said suspected ISIL units fought with pro-government
Shi’ite militias south of the Iraqi capital.

ISIL has also been targeting Iraqi military bases as well as oil fields.
One of the targets was the Iraq Air Force base known until 2012 as Camp
Anaconda, now surrounded by ISIL mortar and machine-gun units.

Iraqi sources said the government of Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki has
failed to recruit Sunni tribes to stop ISIL. They said the tribes were
refusing to fight ISIL and instead were withdrawing from crude oil fields
around Tikrit.

“They’re [Iraqi military] stretched right now,” Gen. Martin Dempsey,
chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, said on July 3, “stretched to
control what they have gained and stretched across their logistics lines of communication.”

  Gen. Martin Dempsey, Gov. Ahmed Juburi, Iraq struggles to win back Tikrit as ISIL continues march to Baghdad, ISIL, Nouri Al Maliki