A tank of Iraqi security forces is seen in the town of al-Alam March 10, 2015. Iraqi troops and militias drove Islamic State insurgents out of al-Alam on Tuesday, clearing a final hurdle before a planned assault on Saddam Hussein's home city of Tikrit in their biggest offensive yet against the ultra-radical group. Credit: Reuters/Thaier Al-Sudani
Tim Lister, CNN: Battle for Tikrit: Despite billions in aid, Iraqi army relies on militia, and Iran
(CNN)The campaign to retake the city of Tikrit from ISIS, also known as the Islamic State, involves a curious mixture of Iraqi forces -- the army and air force, federal police, powerful Shia militia as well as Sunni tribal fighters.
It's a cast of about 30,000 fighters with an opaque command structure. And that makes it tough to be precise about numbers -- but by several estimates only one-third of those fighters are from the regular army.
WNU Editor: A sobering assessment on the Iraqi army. Read it all.
