Region | Iraq
Al Qaida 'will put up fierce fight to keep last Iraqi stronghold'
It is expected that the US and Iraqi Operation Lion's Roar against Al Qaida in Mosul, northern Iraq, will step up action in the forthcoming days.
- By Basil Adas, Correspondent
- Published: 00:38 May 16, 2008
Baghdad: It is expected that the US and Iraqi Operation Lion's Roar against Al Qaida in Mosul, northern Iraq, will step up action in the forthcoming days.
"The military operation relies on intelligence information to launch ground and air strikes against Al Qaida strongholds in Mosul's western neighbourhoods close to the Syrian borders. I think the second week will witness greater escalation with the launch of air strikes by American military aircrafts. During the third or fourth week of the operation, Iraqi forces will stage raids and search neighbourhoods to disarm radical groups and detain wanted gunmen," Hassan Al Nuaimi, an officer in the Iraqi army, told Gulf News.
Officials close to Riyadh Tawfiq Jalal, Mosul's military operations commander, confirmed to Gulf News that Iraqi Prime Minister, Nouri Al Maliki, will himself lead some crucial stages of Operation Lion's Roar which might witness the most ferocious confrontations in the Iraqi security situation since 2003. Al Maliki visited Mosul yesterday.
"Frankly, Mosul is controlled by Al Qaida and the Ansar Al Sunna organisation. The number of gunmen is more than what is expected and they have medium and heavy weapons. I believe the crucial moment of this campaign will be the most ferocious because great numbers of suicide bombers are in Mosul, gunmen from other Iraqi cities are also gathered in Mosul," Khalid Al Najjar, the leader of Mosul's civil support councils of Mosul, told Gulf News. Mosul, the second largest Iraqi city, has a population of four million people of different nationalities, religions and sects. It is described as "little Iraq" because its population consists of Kurds, Arabs, Shiites, Sunnis, Christians, Sabians and Yazidians. Mosul is known by different names such as Hadba'a because the Tigris River runs through the middle of the city, it is also called the City of Two Springs due to its pleasant climate.
"One and a half Iraqi Army brigades in addition to three or four American brigades will face nearly 5,000 armed men, perhaps more because our information confirms there are 7,000 armed men affiliated to Al Qaida and other organisations. There are indications that Al Qaida has prepared hundreds of women, children and men as suicide bombers to confront the US and Iraqi forces during the Lion's Roar operation," Esmail Al Hamadani, an officer in the Iraqi military intelligence service told Gulf News.
Life or death
"This operation is a matter of life or death for Al Qaida and thus its gunmen will fight fiercely to keep their last stronghold in Iraq," Al Hamadani added.
However, Muhanad Al Faidhi, an officer in the Iraqi army during the Saddam Hussain era, told Gulf News: "The Americans and the Iraqi government think that Al Qaida has limited itself to Mosul, but I believe this is a misconception because Al Qaida has proved it is a well-trained organisation. I am confident that most of its armed men headed to the Saladdin province and the Hamrin Mountains close to Diyala and Kirkuk pro-vinces and perhaps others crossed the borders into Syria. Operation Lion's Roar will face unpleasant surprises."
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