This article paints the best picture I've seen of describing Mosul. Especially vivid, and accurate, is the portrayal of Western Mosul, our AO:
The core of the insurgency is in the Ottoman Empire-era old town and nearby western Mosul — densely populated areas, interlaced by narrow alleys stacked with cheek-by-jowl houses and burrowed under with tunnels and caverns.
Oh, and bad guys? We've got bad guys for days:
On the security front alone, Mosul is a complex nut to crack. Not just al-Qaida, but more than a dozen Sunni Muslim and other insurgent groups are on the loose, together with criminal syndicates and rival tribes.
Read the whole thing, and you'll get a good idea of where the Mungadai spend their days and nights.
Not pretty indeed...
ReplyDeleteShooter in Iraqi uniform kills U.S. troops
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- An individual in an Iraqi army uniform opened fire on U.S. troops in Nineveh province Wednesday, killing two soldiers and wounding six others, a U.S. military spokesman said.
The U.S. military has not confirmed the identity of the shooter, but initial reports indicate that the shooter was an Iraqi soldier, the military said in a statement.
The gunman was killed in the ensuing exchange of fire.
An Interior Ministry official said an Iraqi soldier in a joint U.S.-Iraqi patrol opened fire on a group of U.S. soldiers in the same convoy after one of the American troops slapped an Iraqi soldier.
The shooting occurred in the al-Zanjili area of Mosul, about 261 miles (420 kilometers) north of Baghdad, the ministry official said. The incident occurred about 5:30 p.m., officials said.
The ministry official said four U.S. soldiers were killed and three were wounded.
The incident is under investigation, the U.S. military said, but did not confirm any details of a reported altercation.
Earlier Wednesday, a car bomb exploded near an Iraqi police patrol in central Baghdad, killing four people and wounding 14 others, an Interior Ministry official said.
Bombings across Iraq kill dozens
The attack took place in Naser Square about 9:40 a.m.
A roadside bomb also exploded near a car in a Shiite section of northeastern Baghdad, wounding seven civilians.
A car bomb also exploded in al-Shaab neighborhood of northeastern Baghdad, killing two people and wounding 10, an Interior Ministry official said.
Wednesday's violence came as the United Nations' top envoy in Iraq expressed "shock and outrage" over the killings of two Christian sisters in Mosul, the latest in a spate of anti-Christian violence there.
"This cowardly attack came hours after the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees reported that some recently displaced Christian families are beginning to return to Mosul as the security situation in the city shows signs of improvement," according to a statement from envoy Staffan de Mistura.
More than half of Mosul's Christian population fled the city after a campaign of killings and intimidation, the U.N. said. The violence had tapered off in recent weeks, after 14 Iraqi Christians were killed in the city last month.
According to a Mosul police official, gunmen stormed a Christian family's house on Wednesday morning, killing two sisters and wounding their mother.
When police arrived to investigate, a bomb detonated outside the home's main entrance and wounded three officers, the official said
The wife of Mongo appreciates the updates and pictures although she pretends he and the Mungadai are in an office in the palace! Be safe guys. We all love you!
ReplyDeleteCarol
Make sure you all watch each other's backs. I need my Spanky home safely.
ReplyDelete