Soleimani played an integral role in the organisation and planning of the crucial operation to retake the city of Tikrit in Iraq from ISIS . The city of Tikrit rests on the left bank of the Tigris river and is the largest and most important city between Baghdad and Mosul , gifting it a high strategic value . The city fell to ISIS during 2014 when ISIS made immense gains in northern and central Iraq . After its capture , ISIL performed its most infamous massacre at Camp Speicher . After months of careful preparation and intelligence gathering an offensive to encircle and capture Tikrit was launched in early March 2015 . Soleimani is directing the operations on the eastern flank from a village about 35 miles from Tikrit called Albu Rayash , captured over the weekend . The offensive is the biggest military operation in the Salahuddin region since last summer , when ISIS fighters killed hundreds of Iraq army soldiers who had abandoned their military base at Camp Speicher outside Tikrit
most infamous massacre at Camp Speicher
Camp Speicher massacre
Qasem Soleimani