Photos: Soleimani in Battle for Tikrit

March 10, 2015

Iran has made no effort to hide its role in the battle against the Islamic State in Iraq, most recently in Tikrit. General Qassem Soleimani, the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard’s elite Qods Force, has been directing and advising a combination of the Iraqi military and Shiite militias. Photos of him on the front lines have been widely shared on Twitter and other social media networks.

Iraq’s first major assault on Tikrit, a predominantly Sunni city, began on March 1. Tikrit, 90 miles north of Baghdad, is a key point between Baghdad and Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city. The following is a sampling of pictures of Soleimani.
 
For more information on Iran’s involvement in Iraq, see:

Iran & Region II: Salvaging Iraq by Alireza Nader