Middle East News
Mosul offensive to be the "fiercest" against al-Qaeda (1st Lead)
By DPA
May 11, 2008, 13:02 GMT

Baghdad - Iraq's Minister of Interior Jawad al-Bulani vowed Sunday to stamp out insurgents of the al-Qaeda terrorist network in the northern city of Mosul and said a security crackdown launched there would be the fiercest and biggest.

Speaking to reporters in Kirkuk, al-Bulani said the scope of the new offensive would be unprecedented because it would rely on operations to penetrate the ranks of insurgents, regular security patrols and a plan to secure the help of local clans and people.

The local population in multi-ethnic Mosul have fears that the offensive, which was launched Saturday, would have disruptive consequences on their lives.

Allaying those fears, al-Bulani said securing services for the city population was part of the offensive.

'Big-scale preparations have been undertaken in Tikrit and Kirkuk to confront al-Qaeda operatives who may flee (from Mosul) to both cities,' al-Bulani said.

A US troop surge in Baghdad in June 2007 has been credited for improved security in the Iraqi capital. Insurgents linked to al-Qaeda are believed to have fled Baghdad and regrouped in northern Iraq, mainly in Mosul, which is the provincial capital of Nineveh province.

Neighbouring provinces are bracing for a possible flight of insurgents from Mosul if the crackdown yields successful results.

Earlier, the US military said an operation targeting gunmen from the al-Qaeda in Mosul left four people dead, including a woman and a child.

In the operation on Saturday, al-Qaeda suspects, who were riding in a vehicle, refused to stop after coalition troops fired warning shots, which prompted the forces to engage them, according to the military statement.

The woman and the child, who were also in the vehicle, were killed in the engagement along with two gunmen.