In Iraq’s Mosul, Resistance Rises From Rubble
AFP
By: Jean-Marc Mojon & Ammar Karim
.
The dynamiting of some of Mosul’s most precious heritage has spurred a group of students and officers into the first act of armed resistance against the Iraqi city’s jihadist rulers.
Islamic State fighters have faced few challenges in holding the city since they took it over seven weeks ago, with Kurdish forces grounded at its gates and routed government forces in disarray…
“That might just be what turns it around,” said Patrick Skinner, an analyst with the US-based intelligence consultancy The Soufan Group.
“IS militants don’t have numbers on their side if enough people say enough,” he said. “There would be bloodshed, but they could kick IS out in hours.”
Mosul has a population of around two million while IS fighters in the city are thought to number between 5,000 and 10,000.
Skinner said IS militants were likely aware they could be overplaying their hand by blowing up the Hadba, a national icon featured on 10,000 dinar banknotes.
“This is like Mosul’s own Eiffel Tower. I would think (its destruction) would trigger what is missing in Iraq: a national reaction… So I imagine there’s a calculation on the part of IS…”
.
.
To read the full article please click on the link below:
https://en-maktoob.news.yahoo.com/iraqs-mosul-resistance-rises-rubble-125722311.html