--- description: Three key Shi‘ite militias pulled out of the Iraqi assault on the Islamist-held city of Tikrit in protest of U.S. participation title: ISIS: Shi'ite Militias Back Out of Iraq Campaign After U.S. Airstrikes image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltba3644bd106a0b54/698785768e06016c7845af93/tikrit.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Iraq](/tag/iraq/) ## Iraq Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Shi‘ite Militias Reportedly Back Out of Iraq Campaign After U.S. Air Strikes  by [Noah Rayman](/author/noah-rayman/)  ## Noah Rayman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 26, 2015 6:40 PM CUT  Iraqi security forces prepare to attack ISIS's positions in Tikrit, north of Baghdad, Iraq, on March 26, 2015 Iraqi security forces prepare to attack ISIS's positions in Tikrit, north of Baghdad, Iraq, on March 26, 2015Khalid Mohammed—AP  by [Noah Rayman](/author/noah-rayman/)  ## Noah Rayman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 26, 2015 6:40 PM CUT Three key Shi‘ite militias [pulled out of the Iraqi assault](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/27/world/middleeast/iraq-us-air-raids-islamic-state-isis.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=first-column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news "undefined") on the Islamist-held city of Tikrit in protest of U.S. air strikes supporting the campaign, according to a new report. The New York _Times_ reports that the militia groups, representing a third of the 30,000 government-led forces, are withdrawing from the front lines. The leader of the largest militia group in the battle, the Badr Organization, told the _Times_ that he was also considering pulling out. U.S. warplanes had sat out the [weeks-long assault](http://time.com/3728179/iraq-tikrit-mosul/ "undefined") to retake the city held by the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS) amid concerns that the U.S. would find itself fighting alongside the Iranian-backed militias. But the Pentagon reversed course on Wednesday, after receiving assurances that the Shi‘ite militias would [step back from the operation](http://news.yahoo.com/iran-backed-militias-not-involved-tikrit-clearing-u-142015050.html "undefined") according to one top U.S. general. The U.S. participation in the Tikrit campaign added a new layer to its convoluted relationship with rival Iran, and it came as the U.S. expressed support for the Saudi Arabian–led campaign to intervene in Yemen against Iranian-backed rebels. \[[_NYT_](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/27/world/middleeast/iraq-us-air-raids-islamic-state-isis.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=first-column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news "undefined")\] _Read next:_ [_Why the U.S. Is Fighting Besides Iran in Iraq and Against It in Yemen_](http://time.com/3759875/iran-fighting-yemen-iraq-us/?iid=time%5Freadnext "undefined") [_Listen to the most important stories of the day._](http://time.com/newsletter/the-brief/?sl%5Fautoplay=true&xid=spl-fullbrief-article "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3760407/isis-tikrit-shiite-us/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3760407/isis-tikrit-shiite-us/"},"headline":"Shi‘ite Militias Reportedly Back Out of Iraq Campaign After U.S. Air Strikes","datePublished":"2015-03-26T18:40:18.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T05:29:00.133Z","description":"The withdrawing militias represent roughly a third of the 30,000-strong government-led forces","url":"https://time.com/3760407/isis-tikrit-shiite-us/","keywords":["Iraq","ISIS","Saddam Hussein"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltba3644bd106a0b54/698785768e06016c7845af93/tikrit.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Noah Rayman","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/noah-rayman/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltba3644bd106a0b54/698785768e06016c7845af93/tikrit.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Iraqi security forces prepare to attack Islamic State extremist positions in Tikrit, north of Baghdad, Iraq, March 26, 2015.","caption":"Iraqi security forces prepare to attack Islamic State extremist positions in Tikrit, north of Baghdad, Iraq, March 26, 2015.","creditText":"Khalid Mohammed—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/iraq/","name":"Iraq"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3760407/isis-tikrit-shiite-us/","name":"Shi‘ite Militias Reportedly Back Out of Iraq Campaign After U.S. Air Strikes"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"The Families ISIS Fighters Leave Behind","description":"How the rivalry between ISIS & Al-Nusra is tearing families apart","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/3wE4zvGL/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-02-26T00:36:47.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/3wE4zvGL.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3760407/isis-tikrit-shiite-us/","duration":"PT5M29S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3760407/isis-tikrit-shiite-us/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```