| This is Bill Roggio's analysis from a few days ago; his thesis was borne out by the cross-dressing suicide squeegee man who took out part of the Diyala Awakening Council leadership on Wednesday. This is an excerpt; follow the link for the full posting: |
Al Qaeda's attempts to reform in Ninewa have largely been blunted as the group is short of funds and its leadership fractured, Major General Mark Hertling, the commander of Multinational Division North said in a recent interview with Voices of Iraq. "Al Qaeda suffered fund shortage and posed no big danger in Ninewa after [the] killing and arresting a number of its financiers [by US and Iraqi forces]," Hertling said. "The armed groups activating in the provinces worked without funds, after their field financiers escaped with money, causing a splinter in the organization."
US and Iraqi security forces launched Operation Iron Reaper in the north on Dec. 3 in an effort to keep al Qaeda in Iraq from reestablishing its command and control and bases of operation in the region. The rapid expansion of Concerned Local Citizen groups in Ninewa, Salahadin, and Tamin provinces has also helped keep al Qaeda in Iraq from fully regrouping in the North.
But Diyala province has emerged as one of the most dangerous regions in Iraq, Rear Admiral Gregory Smith, the director of communications for Multinational Forces Iraq said today in a press briefing in Baghdad. Al Qaeda in Iraq has "found a haven in Diyala," Smith noted. The Concerned Local Citizen and Awakening movements, the tribal groups and former insurgents that have banded together to fight al Qaeda in Iraq, will be a primary force against al Qaeda in Iraq in Diyala province.