Coalition forces fight in insurgent stronghold while residents urge U.S. troops to leave Mosul

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A U.S. soldier peeks out from behind a wall during a recent firefight in Mosul. While violence has dropped dramatically in most of the country, Mosul is seen by many as the last urban stronghold of the insurgency.


Coalition forces fight in insurgent stronghold while residents urge U.S. troops to leave Mosul
By Heath Druzin, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Sunday, March 8, 2009

MOSUL, Iraq — Thirty minutes after an Iraqi general declared Mosul free of serious security concerns, gunfire filled the air.

Twin attacks on Iraqi checkpoints had left one of the general’s men with a bullet in his arm, and responding U.S. soldiers found themselves sprinting for cover amid the clatter of AK-47s and the crack of sniper fire.

It was an unremarkable attack for this bullet-pocked city, where six American soldiers and two of their translators have been killed since early February. As the U.S. pushes an offensive that commanders say could be the last big battle of the war if successful — or deal a body blow to Iraq’s fragile democracy if it fails — they are contending with determined fighters and a populace that overwhelmingly wants the U.S. to leave immediately.

Iraq’s third most populous city largely flew under the radar for much of the war, as hot spots such as Baghdad and Anbar and Diyala provinces descended into chaos. U.S. military officials say because the so-called "surge" focused on central and western Iraq, insurgents were squeezed north to heavily Sunni Arab Mosul, where there was a lighter troop presence.

While violence has dropped dramatically in most of the country, Mosul is seen by many as the last urban stronghold of the insurgency.


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=61187%2e