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Insurgents on rampage in north Iraq city of Mosul
MOSUL, Iraq, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Insurgents set police stations ablaze, stole weapons and brazenly roamed the streets of Mosul on Thursday as Iraq's third largest city appeared to be sliding out of control, residents said.
Explosions and fire from assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenades could be heard echoing across the city and columns of smoke rose from at least two police stations set alight.
"It's crazy, really, really crazy," said Abdallah Fathi, a resident who witnessed a police station being attacked.
"Yesterday, the city felt like hell, today it could be the same or worse."
The northern city of Mosul has seen frequent outbreaks of violence, but residents and reporters said the past two days were the worst since the end of the war last year.
As U.S. forces battle to suppress insurgents in the rebel city of Falluja, it appears many fighters may have fled to other cities where they are launching new attacks.
In the past three days, there has been a step up in guerrilla activity in Samarra, Baiji, Baquba, Tikrit, Ramadi, areas of Baghdad and in the holy city of Kerbala to the south.
In Mosul, a city of about three million people, insurgents attacked a group of Iraqi National Guardsmen blocking a bridge in the city centre, killing five of them and destroying three vehicles, witnesses said.
A cameraman working for Reuters filmed groups of militants emerging from a police station carrying police-issued AK-47s and bullet-proof jackets before setting the building on fire.
A photographer working for Reuters covering the aftermath of one attack was shot in the leg and taken to hospital. It was not clear how severe his injuries were.
Doctors said one civilian had died and at least 25 had been wounded by crossfire in the past two days of fighting.
OUT OF CONTROL
In Mosul on Wednesday, large groups of armed men, many wearing traditional scarves around their heads, attacked police stations and a convoy of civilian contractor vehicles.
It was not immediately clear how many people were killed in the attacks, but the photographer took pictures of an Iraqi army officer lying dead in the street, a group of five armed men standing over his body celebrating.
Insurgents drove around the city centre at will, freely wandering through traffic and brandishing their weapons aloft.
"It doesn't feel like the police or any local government officials are in charge at all," one resident said. "The insurgents are everywhere."
He said that while Thursday had begun slightly more calmly than Wednesday, there was still a blanket of tension and insecurity hanging over the city. "There seem to be battles going on in several places," he said.
Most residents were too scared to leave their homes and those that spoke to journalists did not want their names used.
U.S. forces responsible for security in the city issued a statement on Wednesday saying "the current situation is developing", but did not elaborate. They did not immediately respond to requests for information on Thursday.
Mosul's governor imposed an immediate curfew on Wednesday and said that anyone crossing any of the five bridges over the Tigris river running through the city would be shot dead.
A reporter working for Reuters drove through areas of Mosul on Thursday morning and saw virtually no U.S. forces on the city streets. There were, however, groups of U.S. soldiers and Iraqi National Guardsmen blocking access to the bridges.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/BAK135332.htm
"It's crazy, really, really crazy," said Abdallah Fathi, a resident who witnessed a police station being attacked.
"Yesterday, the city felt like hell, today it could be the same or worse."
The northern city of Mosul has seen frequent outbreaks of violence, but residents and reporters said the past two days were the worst since the end of the war last year.
As U.S. forces battle to suppress insurgents in the rebel city of Falluja, it appears many fighters may have fled to other cities where they are launching new attacks.
In the past three days, there has been a step up in guerrilla activity in Samarra, Baiji, Baquba, Tikrit, Ramadi, areas of Baghdad and in the holy city of Kerbala to the south.
In Mosul, a city of about three million people, insurgents attacked a group of Iraqi National Guardsmen blocking a bridge in the city centre, killing five of them and destroying three vehicles, witnesses said.
A cameraman working for Reuters filmed groups of militants emerging from a police station carrying police-issued AK-47s and bullet-proof jackets before setting the building on fire.
A photographer working for Reuters covering the aftermath of one attack was shot in the leg and taken to hospital. It was not clear how severe his injuries were.
Doctors said one civilian had died and at least 25 had been wounded by crossfire in the past two days of fighting.
OUT OF CONTROL
In Mosul on Wednesday, large groups of armed men, many wearing traditional scarves around their heads, attacked police stations and a convoy of civilian contractor vehicles.
It was not immediately clear how many people were killed in the attacks, but the photographer took pictures of an Iraqi army officer lying dead in the street, a group of five armed men standing over his body celebrating.
Insurgents drove around the city centre at will, freely wandering through traffic and brandishing their weapons aloft.
"It doesn't feel like the police or any local government officials are in charge at all," one resident said. "The insurgents are everywhere."
He said that while Thursday had begun slightly more calmly than Wednesday, there was still a blanket of tension and insecurity hanging over the city. "There seem to be battles going on in several places," he said.
Most residents were too scared to leave their homes and those that spoke to journalists did not want their names used.
U.S. forces responsible for security in the city issued a statement on Wednesday saying "the current situation is developing", but did not elaborate. They did not immediately respond to requests for information on Thursday.
Mosul's governor imposed an immediate curfew on Wednesday and said that anyone crossing any of the five bridges over the Tigris river running through the city would be shot dead.
A reporter working for Reuters drove through areas of Mosul on Thursday morning and saw virtually no U.S. forces on the city streets. There were, however, groups of U.S. soldiers and Iraqi National Guardsmen blocking access to the bridges.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/BAK135332.htm
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Rebels storm police in Mosul
From correspondents in Mosul, Iraq
11nov04
MASKED rebels stormed into six Iraqi police stations in the northern city of Mosul today seizing weapons and torching buildings, according to an AFP correspondent in the city.
In what appeared to be a coordinated attack, one day after a curfew was imposed on the restive city, gunmen pulled up in front police stations in the centre, eastern and northern parts of the city forcing policemen to leave the buildings.
They then looted weapons and ammunition from the stations before setting some buildings and police cars on fire.
http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,11359469%255E1702,00.html
US launches operations
In a statement, the US military said it had launched offensive operations in southern Mosul to try to quell the rampaging insurgency after a request from the governor.
"Insurgent forces attacked several police stations and other targets within the city," it said.
"In several cases, anti-Iraqi forces exceeded the capabilities of the police on site, requiring reinforcements."
It said the governor was doing all he could to try to get police back into stations to restore order.
On Wednesday, large groups of armed men, many wearing traditional scarves around their heads, attacked police stations and a convoy of civilian contractor vehicles.
Insurgents drove around the city centre at will, freely wandering through traffic and brandishing their weapons aloft.
"It doesn't feel like the police or any local government officials are in charge at all," one resident said. "The insurgents are everywhere."
He said that while Thursday had begun slightly more calmly than Wednesday, there was still a blanket of tension and insecurity hanging over the city.
"There seem to be battles going on in several places," he said.
Most residents were too scared to leave their homes and those that spoke to journalists did not want their names used.
Mosul's governor imposed an immediate curfew on Wednesday and said that anyone crossing any of the five bridges over the Tigris river running through the city would be shot dead.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200411/s1241711.htm
Iraqi military and intelligence officials say many of the foreign and Iraqi fighters fleeing Fallujah are regrouping in Iraq's second-largest city, Mosul, where foreign terrorist groups and Iraqi nationalists have built a deep network over the last year. In this view, instead of soundly defeating the insurgents operating from Fallujah, the frontal invasion launched there on Monday might simply have scattered militant cells across the country.
In a sign of the insurgency's reach, a mortar attack struck the U.S. base in Mosul on Wednesday, killing two soldiers. Signaling its concern, the Iraqi government imposed a curfew in Mosul, just as it has done earlier this week in Fallujah and Baghdad.
In the three days since the assault began in Fallujah, hundreds of Iraqis have been killed in attacks elsewhere in the country, including massacres at police stations in Baqubah, Haditha and Haqlaniya. On Wednesday, gunmen attacked two police stations in Mosul.
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/1111iraq-assess11.html
From correspondents in Mosul, Iraq
11nov04
MASKED rebels stormed into six Iraqi police stations in the northern city of Mosul today seizing weapons and torching buildings, according to an AFP correspondent in the city.
In what appeared to be a coordinated attack, one day after a curfew was imposed on the restive city, gunmen pulled up in front police stations in the centre, eastern and northern parts of the city forcing policemen to leave the buildings.
They then looted weapons and ammunition from the stations before setting some buildings and police cars on fire.
http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,11359469%255E1702,00.html
US launches operations
In a statement, the US military said it had launched offensive operations in southern Mosul to try to quell the rampaging insurgency after a request from the governor.
"Insurgent forces attacked several police stations and other targets within the city," it said.
"In several cases, anti-Iraqi forces exceeded the capabilities of the police on site, requiring reinforcements."
It said the governor was doing all he could to try to get police back into stations to restore order.
On Wednesday, large groups of armed men, many wearing traditional scarves around their heads, attacked police stations and a convoy of civilian contractor vehicles.
Insurgents drove around the city centre at will, freely wandering through traffic and brandishing their weapons aloft.
"It doesn't feel like the police or any local government officials are in charge at all," one resident said. "The insurgents are everywhere."
He said that while Thursday had begun slightly more calmly than Wednesday, there was still a blanket of tension and insecurity hanging over the city.
"There seem to be battles going on in several places," he said.
Most residents were too scared to leave their homes and those that spoke to journalists did not want their names used.
Mosul's governor imposed an immediate curfew on Wednesday and said that anyone crossing any of the five bridges over the Tigris river running through the city would be shot dead.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200411/s1241711.htm
Iraqi military and intelligence officials say many of the foreign and Iraqi fighters fleeing Fallujah are regrouping in Iraq's second-largest city, Mosul, where foreign terrorist groups and Iraqi nationalists have built a deep network over the last year. In this view, instead of soundly defeating the insurgents operating from Fallujah, the frontal invasion launched there on Monday might simply have scattered militant cells across the country.
In a sign of the insurgency's reach, a mortar attack struck the U.S. base in Mosul on Wednesday, killing two soldiers. Signaling its concern, the Iraqi government imposed a curfew in Mosul, just as it has done earlier this week in Fallujah and Baghdad.
In the three days since the assault began in Fallujah, hundreds of Iraqis have been killed in attacks elsewhere in the country, including massacres at police stations in Baqubah, Haditha and Haqlaniya. On Wednesday, gunmen attacked two police stations in Mosul.
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/1111iraq-assess11.html
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