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US troops see gains in Mosul

Aug- 8-2005 » Filed Under: 1/25 SBCT

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By ANTONIO CASTANEDA, Associated Press Writer

MOSUL, Iraq -- There's one clear sign that life in the Sunni Arab-dominated western half of this city is changing for the better -- children are again playing soccer at night. The reason: fewer insurgent attacks.

The US military says there were fewer bombings and mortar attacks in the Iraqi city of Mosul in July than any month since October.

A 50% drop in attacks in western Mosul in the past eight months is a marked improvement from the days when US troops routinely had to call in airstrikes and repel synchronised attacks.

But that doesn’t mean violence has been eradicated. Though attacks in July were noticeably down, western Mosul still endured over 50 shootings and roadside bombings, the US military said.

Soldiers say they’re close to solidifying gains and making further progress - if the flow of foreign fighters can be blocked so that insurgent ranks are not quickly replaced. US commanders say they have nearly uprooted the top insurgent network that steered the city towards chaos last November.

US officials attribute the recent gains to the thousands of patrols and raids mounted since Saddam Hussein’s regime collapsed in 2003. They contend that nascent local Iraqi forces could be ready to face the insurgency on their own in six to 12 months, though residents remain wary about a force that relies so heavily on the US military.

But American officials say soldiers are now engaging the local population more than before.

“If you’re out there just driving around, you’re wasting gas,” Army Lt. Col. Michael Kurilla, who commands the 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment that oversees the area, told two new soldiers. “If you’re not talking to (civilians), the terrorists are.” [...]


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