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October 12, 2008 3:47:58 PM CDT

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Iraqis Losing Love for al-Qaeda

Posted Jul 6, 08 6:56 PM CDT in World 

(Newser) – Outsmarted and overwhelmed by allied forces in Iraq, al-Qaeda is getting desperate, Marie Colvin writes for the London Times. The insurgents, masters of organized resistance, are now resorting to small-scale hit-and-run attacks amidst waning support from Iraqis. “Al-Qaeda in Mosul is pretty much not able to do the attacks that they could do previously,” said an Iraqi commander.

Attacks have fallen by 80%, and even military officials are surprised by how fast the militants have fallen. The US troop surge led to the quick turnaround, Colvin says; al-Qaeda has also begun to alienate Iraqis with its steady campaign of kidnapping and extortion. “We need jobs,” insisted one citizen. “We’re all very tired of this insurgency.”

Source Times (UK)

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Detainees sit at an Iraqi army base. US and Iraqi forces have reclaimed large swathes of the country from insurgents and completed the %u201Cclearing%u201D of many cities.   (AP Photo)
Iraqi security forces lead detainees in a police station in Mosul, 360 kilometers (225 miles) northwest of Baghdad. Iraqi and American forces have put al-Qaeda on the defensive.   (AP Photo)
Iraqi soldiers cheer at a checkpoint in Mosul. The overall number of attacks in Iraq has fallen by 80% in the past year alone.   (AP Photo)
An Iraqi member of Concerned Local Citizens committees that fight Al-Qaeda, takes a combat position as he patrols an area northeast of Baghdad.   (AFP)
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Iraq  • US military  • insurgents  • troop surge  • al-Qaeda in Iraq  • Mosul  • David Patraeus


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