Iraq: Insurgent leader urges followers to reorganize..

azzaman.com: An insurgency leader in northern Iraq has urged his followers to concentrate efforts on how to wrest control of Mosul, Iraq's third largest city.

The insurgents are active in the city bordering Syria and the Kurdish-held northern strip, but have seen their influence relatively diminishing recently.

U.S. troops in Mosul have reportedly intercepted a message from the insurgency leader in the region, called Emir or prince, addressed to his superiors in western Iraq.

A copy of the message, obtained by the newspaper, indicates that despite the relative lull in anti-U.S. and anti-government operations, the insurgency still has an upper hand at least in parts of the region.

The Emir calling himself Abu Ziyad says the full control of Mosul would eventually ease the pressure on insurgents currently battling U.S. and Iraqi government troops mainly in towns west of Baghdad.

Several towns within the geographical borders of the Province of Nineveh - of which Mosul is the capital - like Tel Affar and Selamiya have recently turned into major insurgent strongholds.

"The fall of Mosul in the hands of the Mujahideen (insurgents) is possible. This will lessen pressure on cities like al-Qaim and Tell Afar," Abu Ziyad said.

Abu Ziyad exhorts his followers to step up attacks in Mosul, advising them to concentrate "on quality of operations rather than their quantity."

He asks Iraqi insurgents and their sympathizers to pay particular attention to "foreign fighters" and warns against what he describes as "disobedience and lack of cooperation" among insurgent groups operating in Mosul. Read more


db: make of it what you will...