I have to agree with Confederate Yankee here, the fact that the Iraqi military and police were able to close with and destroy terrorists who were attacking various targets simultaneously, killing 15 and preventing any serious loss of life while also preventing them from reaching their target (a jail holding 300 prisoners) is a sure sign that things are working in Iraq.
Iraqi Security Forces countered several terrorists who targeted bridges, transition jails, police stations and a combat outpost with vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices, sporadic small-arms fire and indirect mortar attacks throughout the evening.
"This was a total team effort on the part of the Iraqi Security Forces and emergency responders," said U.S. Army Col. Stephen Twitty, commander of 4th Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division. "This Iraqi team showed the people of Mosul that they are resolute in their efforts to defeat this very cowardly, desperate enemy while protecting innocent civilians."
The first wave of attacks consisted of three VBIEDs, which targeted the Badush Bridge northwest of Mosul at 5:15 p.m., and was followed by another VBIED attack at the Aski-Mosul Bridge west of the city at 5:45 p.m.
Two more VBIEDs exploded outside a police station and a transition jail during the first wave. The first VBIED was a dump truck, which detonated upon reaching the entrance to the station. The driver of the second VBIED attempted to enter the compound but was killed by Iraqi Security Forces.
As the driver of the second VBIED was killed, terrorists attempted to breach the transition jail to release prisoners by using small-arms fire. However, Iraqi Security Forces quelled the attempt and kept the facility secured.
The second wave of attacks involved another dump truck VBIED parked outside a southeast police station at approximately 7 p.m. As the driver abandoned the vehicle, he was seen by Iraqi Police and was killed as he was fleeing the area. The Iraqi Police immediately cordoned the vicinity before detonation. No casualties resulted.
Small-arms fire erupted during the second wave at seven police stations throughout the city and one combat outpost. In all cases, Iraqi Army and Police repelled the enemy and killed at least 15 terrorists and turned back the remaining opposition.
"The Iraqi Security Forces are in the lead, and they are certainly a capable force," said Twitty. "Their reactions to the attacks [on Wednesday] only serve to prove their ability to destroy and remove terrorists. Their actions demonstrate their commitment to this city and its people. I am extremely proud to serve beside them."
As Confederate Yankee notes, hardly any MSM outfits paid any attention to the news. The New York Times wrote a doom and gloom article in which they state the security situation is getting worse due to these attacks. No attention paid to the fact that the Iraqi police and military STOPPED this attack, by themselves.
Sprawling street battles between militia gunmen and Iraqi security forces erupted in three cities on Wednesday on a day of wide-ranging violence that underscored the security situation across much of Iraq.
In the northern city of Mosul, more than 200 Sunni Arab insurgents mounted a sophisticated attack on several targets using suicide car bombers, rocket-propelled grenades, assault rifles and improvised bombs, said Maj. Gen. Watheq al-Hamdani, the top police commander in Mosul.
Four police officers died in the fighting, while 14 others were wounded along with 16 civilians, Hamdani said.
The attack began at dusk when gunmen tried to storm the main provincial jail, the commander said. When police forces responded, the insurgents attacked them with six suicide car bombs, and 14 bombs planted on surrounding roads exploded.
As the police and insurgents fought near the prison, gunmen also attacked the houses of al-Hamdani and Khasro Goran, deputy governor of Mosul province and one of the senior members of a leading Kurdish political party, the police commander said. Neither man was wounded.
Doing a google news search for attack mosul iraqi jail returned with 18 hits. That’s it. Stars and Stripes indicates that up to 200 terrorists were involved in this attack:
A series of coordinated car and truck bombs and small-arms attacks in Mosul have left two bridges destroyed, a jail damaged, and several Iraqi police dead and wounded.
As many as 200 insurgents were involved in the attacks, which took place this week, Iraqi and U.S. officials said Friday.
Four truck bombs targeted the two bridges, which span the Tigris River near the city. One Iraqi soldier, five Iraqi police and one civilian were killed in those attacks. Four other Iraqi soldiers were wounded, U.S. military officials said.
But lets turn this around. What do you think the reaction would be from our MSM if this attack had succeeded and they had freed 300 prisoners? Would Walter Cronkite come out of retirement to call this the Iraqi Tet offensive? You know, that offensive by the North Vietnamese in which we wiped the floor with their bodies, where we kicked their asses from one side to the next, but was labeled a failure by the MSM….that offensive.
The training worked, but hey….why mention that and let the people know things are working when you don’t have to.
UPDATE
Wonder of wonders, CNN reported on the success:
At least nine bombings in and near the northern Iraqi city of Mosul on Wednesday were aimed at freeing hundreds of inmates from an Iraqi prison, Iraqi and U.S. military sources said.
A high-ranking U.S. military official said Thursday that Iraqi security forces showed they were trained and ready with their response to what he said was the largest insurgent attack in that part of Iraq in eight months.
Mosul police spokesman Gen. Saied al-Jabouri said intelligence reports suggested the attacks were coordinated by al Qaeda and the Islamic State of Iraq — which he said were "two sides of the same coin" — and were an effort to free at least 300 inmates from the al-Faisaliya prison in Mosul.
Al-Jabouri said seven of the 10 vehicle-borne bombs were suicide car bombings and that a key bridge, many buildings, shops and homes were destroyed during a six-hour period starting late Wednesday afternoon.
A U.S. military source said the bombs killed 10 Iraqi police officers, one Iraqi soldier and two civilians. He credited the Iraqi security forces for these "minimal casualties," saying it "could have been much worse if they were not doing their job."
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