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Civilians bear the brunt of the insurgency

Apr- 3-2004 » Filed Under: 3/2 SBCT

[Link to Full Article]
By Mariam Fam, Associated Press

MOSUL, Iraq (AP) Fewer U.S. troops patrol the streets of Iraq's third-largest city, while more Iraqi security forces drive through busy markets or sprawl on median strips in firing positions.

Deadly attacks on local police, translators and government officials also have become more familiar in Mosul, once seen as a success story of the U.S.-led occupation. [...]

''I think it's an indicator of how desperate the enemy forces are at this time,'' said Lt. Col. Joseph Piek, a military spokesman here. ''They're not achieving a significant amount of success in attacking the security forces so they seem to be looking for soft targets.''

''The enemy is looking for opportunities to drive wedges between...the people and the Iraqi security forces and the coalition,'' Piek said. The effort was in vain, he said. [...]

Brig. Gen. Carter Ham, commander of Task Force Olympia, said attacks by former regime loyalists were more prevalent but less lethal, usually drive-by shootings against symbols of authority, such as police. Terrorists foreign and domestic fighters focus on more sophisticated and deadly operations that usually show good intelligence and surveillance, he said. [...]

''It is a very deliberate and very difficult process to identify what is unfortunately a very committed and very capable enemy,'' Ham said.


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