article_snippet: (CNN)There is only one likely outcome for Baghdad's current military offensive to reclaim Tikrit: defeat for ISIS.
article_snippet: The campaign to restore central government authority over the restive Salahudin province is seen as both symbolic and strategic for Baghdad which has invested too much already for the restive Salahudin province to afford losing this battle.
article_snippet: ISIS are said to have booby-trapped much of Baghdad in an attempt to slow down the government assault.
article_snippet: However, the task at hand has been made easier for Baghdad given that most civilians in Tikrit have already fled -- both to Kurdistan in the north as well as south to Baghdad -- leaving behind mostly ISIS jihadists who defend Baghdad, according to Iraqi constitutional specialist Zaid al-Ali, who is from Baghdad.
article_snippet: Initial reports of the multi-pronged attack on Tikrit have been encouraging.
article_snippet: Iraqi forces have already cleared a number of areas on the outskirts and are expected to continue advancing towards the city center as both heavy artillery and helicopter gunships pound ISIS militants who have taken up defensive positions.
article_snippet: General Qasim Suleimani, the commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Quds Force, who has played a key role in the fight against ISIS, was reported to be near Tikrit just hours after the campaign was officially launched.
article_snippet: Though there are few civilians left in Tikrit, all eyes will be on the Iraqi security forces -- and especially the Shia militias --- to see if abuses are carried out once the enemy is routed.
article_snippet: Prime Minister Abadi already warned the anti-ISIS fighters to protect civilians and properties in the area and also gave the "misled" ISIS militants a last chance to lay down the anti-ISIS fighters arms before the troops made the troops advance.
article_snippet: The battle is an especially emotional one for the Shia soldiers and fighters as Tikrit is the site of the Camp Speicher massacre last June, where 1,700 Shia soldiers were captured, separated from 1,700 Shia soldiers Sunni comrades and then summarily executed in an atrocity that was documented by ISIS as a powerful propaganda film.
highlights_snippet: Likely outcome for Baghdad's current offensive to reclaim Tikrit is defeat for ISIS, writes Hayder al-Khoei .
  