Posted on 03/11/2006 11:41:22 PM PST by FairOpinion
BAGHDAD, Iraq – Residents reported curious declarations hanging from mosque walls and market stalls recently in Ramadi, the Sunni Muslim insurgent stronghold west of Baghdad. The fliers said Iraqi militants had turned on and were killing foreign al-Qaeda fighters, their one-time allies.
A local tribal leader and Iraq's Defense Ministry have said followers of Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq, have begun fleeing Anbar province and Ramadi, its capital, to cities and mountain ranges near the Iranian border.
“So far we have cleared 75 percent of the province and forced al-Qaeda terrorists to flee to nearby areas,” said Osama al-Jadaan, a leader of the Karabila tribe, which has thousands of members living along the border with Syria.
He claimed his people have captured hundreds of foreigner fighters and handed them to authorities. The drive, dubbed Operation Tribal Chivalry, is designed to secure the country's borders with Syria, Jordan and Saudi Arabia to prevent foreign fighters from crossing in.
“We are against the killing of civilians for sectarian or ethnic reasons. That's why we are shedding the blood of Muslim extremists, especially al-Qaeda,” said Abul-Rahman Mansheed, a top Sunni politician in Hawija.
Army Maj. Gen. Anwar Mohammed Amin, in the nearby city of Kirkuk, said the military soon would launch a major attack, with help from the local tribesmen, to clear that region of al-Qaeda as well.
(Excerpt) Read more at signonsandiego.com ...
I highly recommend reading the entire article.
The Iraqis are cleaning out cities and regions of Al Qaeda.
Related article:
Al-Qaeda rebels are losing
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1594854/posts
AL-QAEDA insurgents in Iraq have sustained significant losses and their ability to mount effective attacks is steadily diminishing, according to Australia's top soldier in the Middle East.
Brigadier Paul Symon said while Iraq was going through an "awkward period" during the transition to a new government, the US-led coalition remained confident the country would not descend into civil war.
Interviewed in Baghdad he said military operations against al-Qaeda and its affiliates were proving to be "very effective" with the organisation led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi now less agile and having to rely on much less-seasoned fighters.
"We are seeing an insurgency that is diminishing in effectiveness in its tactics and techniques. I think they have lost some of their better people," he said.
sitrep
Great post, I did read the whole article, sounds great. The Iraqis are coming forward.
This is great. They want us out of there, and so do we. The Iraqi people are figuring it out. It's their country. It's their future.
They have the right attitude:
"“We are against the killing of civilians for sectarian or ethnic reasons. That's why we are shedding the blood of Muslim extremists, especially al-Qaeda,” said Abul-Rahman Mansheed, a top Sunni politician in Hawija. "
Ah, more commonly referred to as the imminent "civil war"?
Where's my salt?
IIRC, $25 million bounty, no?
I sort of think that when they do capture/kill him, they probably will neither announce it or claim the reward.
Bump for later reading.
ping
Ditto.
That "civil war" ahs been imminent for over two years.
The poor, frustrated MSM has been trying to ger one started for such a long time now and it's just not there.
That's what I get for typing and talking to someone at the same time.
Dang job is getting in the way of my FReeping. ;-)
What makes you think that, because they want to ignore paying the bounty, or because they don't want to identify the Iraqi responsible?
Yes, the MSM -- always on the wrong side.
Another good article:
'Job Is Getting Done' in Iraq, Despite US Press, Veterans Say
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1594364/posts
A group of veterans from Operation Iraqi Freedom said Thursday that U.S.-led coalition forces are getting the job done when it comes to defeating insurgents and helping Iraq establish a democratic government -- despite the U.S. news media's negative portrayal of the conflict.
"I am not here to debate the choices that were made, only to tell you that today, the job is getting done" in Iraq, Marine Corporal Richard Gibson said during a news conference hosted by the conservative group America's Majority at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.
Gibson based his optimistic assessment of the situation in Iraq on several factors, including the strength of coalition forces. "The old Iraqi army was no match for what we, the Marines, had to offer and neither is the insurgency," he said.
However, "we were not there as conquerors but as liberators," Gibson stated. "That was our mission."
Gibson also pointed to what he called two "tipping points" in the ongoing conflict that took place during 2005. "These junctures are decisive indicators of coalition victories over the insurgency," he said. "Most Iraqis understand them, but most Americans do not."
What wonderful news!
That was what I was referring to.
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