US troops tackle die-hard Fallujah rebels, threat of Mosul assault looms

[maddezmom]

~snip~

Any victory, will likely ring hollow as lawlessness flares elsewhere -- in particular Iraq's third city of Mosul -- and aid agencies warn about the plight of civilians still inside Fallujah and the tens of thousands who fled.

~snip~

With the insurgents growing bolder by the day in Mosul, 370 kilometres (230 miles) north of Baghdad, Allawi said that Iraqi security forces were massing and would move on the city of more than a million people soon.

"We will be moving in the next day or so in Mosul to restore the rule of law," he said, without providing details.

An AFP reporter saw looters rampage through a palace in Mosul on Saturday that had been used by a foreign company after the staff left at dawn.

The situation elsewhere in Iraq remained unstable.

more: http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/2004...

[Sandpiper]

1. What plight of civilians?

All the civilians were out of Fallujah.

[itzamirakul]

2. I really don't believe...

these news stories anymore. They are just more propaganda to make George look successful before his crowning. The media is dishing out the information that Rove wants them to. The poor troops are probably over there in the middle of hell.

[izzie]

3. I like to read both sides in the Iraq blogs.

One thing they seem to both say is the country seems be be blowing up. Maybe the Terrorist or the Americans but lots of bombing and people die.

[ClintonTyree]

4. And as soon as we get to Mosul................

they'll pop up somewhere else. Bush wanted to fight this war on the cheap, there aren't enough boots on the ground to keep this crap from happening ad infinitum. The insurgents always seem to be one step ahead of them and the "coalition" of U.S. soldiers is always playing catch-up. As soon as they go to Mosul, they'll be back in Fallujah. What monkey planned this war anyway?

[Massacure]

5. Allowi will send troops to enter? What about Bush?

The Iraqis will get their asses kicked without U.S. support.

[billyoc]

6. I have a feeling that Alawi has been

quietly re-forming some of Sadaam's death squads, making deals with former Repubican Guard Generals. They may do better in Mosul on their own.

[0007]

7. Elsewhere, like in Ramadi!

"Insurgent attacks against American troops here have markedly intensified in the past two weeks, and enemy combatants are now conducting a more determined battle, commanders say.

"My personal take is that Ramadi is a less-publicized Falluja, in the sense of the combat you face every time you go into town," said Capt. Ben Siebold, a company commander in an Army battalion stationed in the downtown at a small and aptly named base, Combat Outpost. "In the time I've been here, the nature of the enemy has changed," he said. "He's more determined, more organized and a little bit better shot."

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/14/international/middlee...

[maddezmom]

8. yes, and Najaf the rviously "pacified" city

is now under curfew

[maddezmom]

9. AP- Insurgents Storm Police Stations in Mosul

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Insurgents stormed two police stations Sunday in the strife-ridden city of Mosul, killing at least six Iraqi troops as attacks spread throughout Sunni Muslim areas following the U.S.-led assault on Fallujah.

~snip~

Fighting in Fallujah was ebbing, but insurgent attacks appeared to escalate elsewhere in Sunni Muslim areas of central and northern Iraq (news - web sites).


Saboteurs set fire Sunday to four oil wells in Iraq's northern fields, setting off successive explosions in Khabbaza, 12 miles northwest of Kirkuk, oil officials said.


Heavy explosions rattled central Baghdad near the Palestine and Sheraton hotels after nightfall Sunday, followed by bursts of sporadic gunfire. The U.S. military said initial reports indicated rockets or mortars had struck the area, killing two Iraqis and wounding another.


About an hour later, about four more large explosions rocked the Green Zone, headquarters of the U.S. and Iraqi leadership. At least one private security guard was killed. Clashes were also reported on Haifa Street, a center of insurgent support in the heart of the capital.

more: http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=540&nci...

Freedom and democracy greaking out all over Iraq again today.

[saigon68]

10. And here are the insurgents in Mosul

Right on time.

[exJW]

12. My respect for the insurgency just took a nosedive.

Pantaloons?

[Darranar]

11. Perpetual slaughter, it looks like...

more "progress."