Iraq crisis: despite decapitations and deaths thousands return willingly to city held by ISIS

The Telegraph ^ | 06/14/2014 | Ruth Sherlock and Carol Malouf

[Rusty0604]

Many residents of Mosul say they prefer life under ISIS to that under Iraqi army control

Less than one week ago the jihadists seized control of Iraq’s second city, Mosul, where they have set to work imposing the hardline rules and summary justice of their “Islamic State”.

In the Sunni dominated city, the removal of the Iraqi army by ISIS has been interpreted as a local victory; as a means of empowering Mosul residents against ...the Shia dominated national government who they feel has kept their people “oppressed”.

But the crises in northern Iraq is now less one of a single jihadist group to be rooted out and destroyed, than of a sectarian pushback by the Sunni population against the Iraqi government.

With the rest of his family crammed into his battered silver Sedan car, ready to drive to Mosul, Maher, the teacher, described the city, which he had been to the day before.

“The situation is quiet and normal now in Mosul. Schools and hospitals have opened,” he said. “There is no pressure from ISIS.

Video footage from inside the city shows masked gunmen acting as traffic police, calmly waving cars through at a crossroads. Other images show the jihadists studiously repairing broken electricity lines.

One female resident, who asked not to be named, spoke to the Telegraph from her home inside the city.

“The armed men organise even the municipal services. Rubbish is being cleaned off the streets. Electricity is very fine: we now have it more than nine hours per day, which is even better than during Saddam [Hussein]’s rule,” she said.

“Now, in these days of being in the grip of the armed men, we only feel the wonderful peace, which we have missed for more than a decade now, since 2003.”

[bandleader]

“Shave and a Haircut,Two-Bits”???????????

[bgill]

Those thousands should return and kick the bad guys out. Unless, of course, those returning support them and they’re all one big happy tribe.

[SJackson]

Middle East and terrorism, occasional political and Jewish issues Ping List. High Volume If you’d like to be on or off, please FR mail me.

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