The United States is providing reconnaissance support for Iraq's operation to retake Tikrit from the Daesh group, a senior military official from the anti-jihadist coalition said on Tuesday.
The US-led coalition has targeted IS with air strikes and provided training and equipment to Iraqi forces, but this is the first confirmation of its direct involvement in the Tikrit operation, the largest Baghdad has launched against the jihadists.
"The coalition began providing ISR (intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance) support on March 21, 2015 at the request of the government of Iraq, and the US is now providing that support," the official told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.