Iraqi offensive on Tikrit stalls as casualty numbers mount
Baghdad does not provide casualty figures but corpses continue to arrive at major cemetery
The Iraqi forces' operation to retake the city of Tikrit has stalled as troops suffer heavy casualties at the hands of Islamic State militants, raising concerns over whether the pro-government fighters are ready for major offensives.
After two days of little activity on the battlefield, Iraq's interior minister, Mohammed alGhabban, confirmed on Monday that the offensive had "temporarily stopped".
The steady flow of caskets arriving in Iraq's Shiite holy city of Najaf suggests a reason for the pause; cemetery workers say as many as 60 war dead have been arriving each day.
Since last week, Iraqi forces have hemmed in the Sunni militants in Tikrit, claiming control of most of the former IS stronghold. But the operation has come at a cost, with soldiers saying the fight has been tougher than expected. As the momentum has slowed, some Iraqi officials have begun to publicly call for US-led air support.
While Iraqi officials still express confidence that they can retake the city, the stuttering offensive does not bode well for the more complex battles for the city of Mosul or militant-held areas of Anbar province that were expected to begin in coming months.
Ghabban said that Tikrit operations would "resume soon" but that the decision would be in the hands of battlefield commanders.
"It's a furious fight, harder than we thought," said Taher Sabah, a 25-year-old militiaman with the Shiite Badr Organisation, who arrived to lay his father to rest in Najaf on Sunday after he was killed near Tikrit the night before.