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| Iraq-Jordan |
| Ansar al-Sunnah primer |
| 2004-12-22 |
| One of the most feared and shadowy terrorist groups in Iraq, which has been involved in beheadings, assassinations, kidnappings and suicide bombings, claimed responsibility Tuesday for the deadly attack on a U.S. base in Mosul. In a posting on the Internet, the Ansar al-Sunnah Army called the attack on a mess hall at Forward Operating Base Marez a "martyrdom operation." The camp is used by Task Force Olympia, a Stryker Brigade from Fort Lewis, Wash., along with other U.S. Army units, civilian contractors and Iraqi government security forces. Analysts say the Ansar al-Sunnah Army is just one of several insurgent groups operating in the Mosul area, Iraq's third-largest city about 240 miles north of Baghdad. Though violence in the city has been increasing since U.S. forces drove insurgents out of Fallujah several weeks ago, some experts have long expected Mosul to become a hot spot. "We have always thought it was a ticking time bomb," said Bathsheba Crocker, an Iraq analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Crocker said Mosul was a Sunni stronghold much favored under Saddam Hussein's regime. Saddam loyalists remain in the city. Last July, two of Saddam's sons were discovered hiding in Mosul. They were surrounded and killed by U.S. troops. Since the U.S. occupation, many Mosul residents feel they are getting the "raw end of the deal," and insurgents are able to easily blend in to the population, Crocker said. "They are entrenched." |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |