U.S. Commanders Concerned over Iran’s Elite Forces Helping Iraqis Fight ISIS

Iraqi forces, Iranian militias launch key attack on Islamic State (The Los Angeles Times)

Thousands of Iraqi troops backed by Iranian-trained Shiite Muslim militias pushed north Monday toward Tikrit, Iraq, marking a major offensive to wrest control of the strategic and heavily symbolic city from the militant group Islamic State.

The attack, involving more than 20,000 fighters along with air power, tanks and artillery, appeared to be the most concerted effort to date to expel the extremists from one of their major urban strongholds.