Has There Been Progress In Tikrit?

Is the U.S. winning in Tikrit?

Iraqi prime minister Haider al-Abadi confirmed recently that the city of Tikrit (in Iraq) has been recaptured from Islamic State (ISIS) after a long battle.

Tikrit was considered Saddam Hussein’s hometown.

Haider al-Abadi went on live television to announce the liberation of Tikrit and congratulated the Iraqi security forces and popular volunteers “on the historic milestone,” according to the IB Times U.K.

According to the I.B. Times U.K., “an Iraqi commander said the Iraqi flag is flying on the Salaheddin provincial headquarters in the flashpoint city.”

Previously, Iraqi Shi’ite militias halted Tikrit operations following US air strikes on IS defenders.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Defense, A’laa al-Idani, told IBTimes UK air strikes by the US and its coalition allies would help to destroy the network of tunnels where IS militants were holed up and allow the army and militias to fully take the city after over a week of fighting.

Iraqi forces launched an attack to push IS out of Tikrit on March 2nd, with a force of 30,000 Sunni and Shi’ite fighters. Taking back Tikrit could serve as a launchpad for a key battle to seize Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city, back from the jihadists.

More here:

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/tikrit-liberated-iraqi-army-have-routed-isis-saddam-husseins-home-town-says-pm-abadi-1494411

Southern Poverty Law Center Takes Dr. Ben Carson Off ‘Extremist Watch List,’ Apologizes

The Southern Poverty Law Center removed Dr. Ben Carson, M.D., from its “extremist watch list” and apologized to the potential GOP presidential candidate.

Carson was originally put on the list because of what the SPLC called his “anti-LGBT” views, according to Mediaite.

The list includes notorious neo-Nazis and white supremacists.

“This week, as we’ve come under intense criticism for doing so, we’ve reviewed our profile and have concluded that it did not meet our standards, so we have taken it down and apologize to Dr. Carson for having posted it,” the SPLC wrote in a statement.

The statement still stated that the SPLC still believes Carson has “made a number of statements that express views that we believe most people would conclude are extreme.”