It has been a long hard fight but the troops on the ground in Iraq, both Iraqi and American are expressing optimism and seeing the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel.
In the Mosul bastion, al-Qaedas remaining force made what is being called "a last stand" and they lost.
A huge operation to crush the 1,200 fighters who remained from a terrorist force once estimated at more than 12,000 began on May 10.
Operation Lion’s Roar, in which the Iraqi army combined forces with the Americans’ 3rd Armoured Cavalry Regiment, has already resulted in the death of Abu Khalaf, the Al-Qaeda leader, and the capture of more than 1,000 suspects.
A senior Iraqi commander, Brigadier General Abdullah Abdul, states, "We’ve limited their movements with check-points. They are doing small attacks and trying big ones, but they’re mostly not succeeding.”
The American Commander in the North, Major-General Mark Hertling, confirms this and for the first time shows the incredible optimism from his observations, to say, "I think we’re at the irreversible point.”
You can read more about what is happening and how from a correspondent with the TimesOnline, on the front lines, in another piece, found here.
The Iraqis and Americans have got Al-Qaeda on the run. How have they come so far, so fast? ON the night of May 9, 87 “target packets” landed on the walnut desk of Abdul, the commander of the Iraqi army’s 2nd Division.
The details of each named target were specific. One read: “Action: capture. Characteristics: white hair, hazel eyes, sunburnt skin. Alias: Abu Mohamed. Car: drives a station wagon. Residence: a two-storey house painted black (with map attached showing location). Credibility of source: reliable.”
By early the next morning – the launch day for Operation Lion’s Roar to recapture Mosul – hundreds of police and army checkpoints had been set up across the city.
Read the rest.... As was promised, the Iraqis stood up and we stood down and they are doing the job they have been trained to do.
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