BAGHDAD Pitched battles have erupted between insurgents and U.S. and Iraqi forces in the northern city of Mosul, with the revolt spreading to Tal Afar, a town near the Syrian border, prompting residents to flee and U.S. armored vehicles to encircle it.
In Mosul, carloads of insurgents drove unhindered through parts of the city and attacked security forces on bridges spanning the Tigris River. The fighters barricaded themselves in a police station and then wounded at least 20 Iraqi security commandos, who called for help from a U.S. unit during the ensuing five-hour gun battle.
Responding to a request from the provincial governor, thousands of Kurdish militiamen from outside Mosul began taking up positions in the streets, and residents said they saw vehicles from the Iraqi security forces rumbling in from the south.
Guerilla News articleIn Mosul, carloads of insurgents drove unhindered through parts of the city and attacked security forces on bridges spanning the Tigris River. The fighters barricaded themselves in a police station and then wounded at least 20 Iraqi security commandos, who called for help from a U.S. unit during the ensuing five-hour gun battle.
Responding to a request from the provincial governor, thousands of Kurdish militiamen from outside Mosul began taking up positions in the streets, and residents said they saw vehicles from the Iraqi security forces rumbling in from the south.
[...]
U.S. soldiers battled an insurgent uprising in Tal Afar in early September and said they had secured the area after killing dozens of fighters, many of whom were believed to have entered from Syria.
The attacks breaking out across northern Iraq underscore a growing problem for U.S. forces: namely, that battlefield victories can be quickly undermined after the Americans leave and weaker Iraqi security forces are left to keep the area.
Oh, but we have it under control.
FUBAR
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