Home » Archives » "Attacks by Militant Groups Rise in Mosul"

Attacks by Militant Groups Rise in Mosul

Feb-22-2005 » Filed Under: Iraq News

The article contains a photograph of a Stryker Brigade soldier.

Link to Full Article
By EDWARD WONG, New York Times

SULAIMANIYA, Iraq, Feb. 21 - Militant Islamist groups that originated in Iraqi Kurdistan are responsible for most of the attacks now taking place in the northern insurgent stronghold of Mosul, while activity by nationalist insurgents linked to the former government has slowed there, senior Kurdish officials say.

The activities of Ansar al-Sunna and Ansar al-Islam, two jihadist groups with close ties, have recently overshadowed those of the nationalist insurgent cells in Mosul led by members of the former ruling Baath Party, the officials say. The nationalist fighters have quieted down since December, when the Americans increased the number of troops in Mosul in advance of the Jan. 30 elections, the Kurdish officials say.

American military officials have said Mosul is a caldron of diverse insurgent cells, with former Baathists and jihadists working to sow violence. The Americans often rely on major Kurdish parties for intelligence on the guerrillas there.[...]

Senior American officers have said repeatedly that they believe high-ranking Baathists are behind most of the attacks in Mosul. The city was a training ground for senior officials of Saddam Hussein's forces.

But Sadi Ahmed Pire, head of the Mosul office of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, said Baathist activity had been on the decline since additional American and Kurdish troops arrived.

Mr. Talabani, the head of the Kurdish counterinsurgency group, said that at this point, the working relationship between Baathists and jihadists was "very negligible."


Advertisements