Iraqi offensive fails to retake Tikrit from armed fighters

Iraqi government forces have withdrawn from the militant-held city of Tikrit after their new offensive met heavy resistance, in a blow to Baghdad’s effort to push back Sunni insurgents who have gained extensive territory in the country over the past month.

The setback against fighters who have seized Mosul, Tikrit and other cities in recent weeks came as Iraqi politicians named a Sunni as speaker of parliament on Tuesday. That was a long-delayed first step toward a power-sharing government needed to confront militants who include the Islamic State, a group formerly allied with Al-Qaeda that hopes to create an Islamic caliphate in Syria and Iraq.

But it is unclear if the election of Salim al-Jabouri as speaker will break the deadlock over Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's bid to serve a third term.

Government troops and allied Shia volunteer fighters retreated from Tikrit before sunset on Tuesday to a base 2.5 miles south after coming under heavy mortar and sniper fire, a soldier who fought in the battle told Reuters.

Residents said there was no fighting on Wednesday morning in Tikrit, which lies 100 miles north of Baghdad. It is a stronghold of ex–army officers and loyalists of former dictator Saddam Hussein's Baath Party who allied themselves with the Islamic State–led offensive last month.

Pictures published on Twitter by supporters of the Islamic State showed a fighter holding a black flag next to a black armored car it said had been abandoned by a military SWAT team, as well as vehicles painted in desert camouflage — one of them burned out — which it said retreating troops had left behind.

The stunning advance in the north and west by the militants over the past month has put Iraq's territorial integrity in jeopardy, as its politicians remain divided over forming a government to confront the insurgency. A shared resentment at Maliki's style of rule, which his critics say has marginalized Iraq's Sunnis and Kurds, may have bolstered the Islamic State's offensive last month.

The Shia leader has so far defied demands from Sunnis and Kurds that he step aside. He also faces challenges from within the National Alliance, a Shia umbrella group that includes Maliki's State of Law bloc and rivals.

After picking Jabouri as speaker on Tuesday afternoon, lawmakers argued for hours over his Shia deputy, which suggests they are still far from a deal to complete the formation of a new government or a decision on the fate of Maliki.

Now that parliament has picked a speaker, it has 30 days to elect a president, who will then have 15 days to nominate a prime minister.

Maliki has given no indication he is willing to step aside.

"Prime Minister Maliki can't and shouldn't be pushed out," an official from the State of Law bloc told Reuters, adding that there had been no formal discussion yet on possible nominees for prime minister.

Al Jazeera and Reuters