A Very Sophisticated Attack by 100 Rebels on Iraq Prison, 33 Freed

[leftchick]

this is an example of how well the Iraqi police are doing against the rebels.....

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060321/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Insurgents stormed a jail about dawn Tuesday in the Sunni Muslim heartland north of Baghdad, killing at least 17 policemen and a courthouse guard. Authorities said all 33 prisoners in the lockup were freed and 10 attackers were killed in the battle.


As many as 100 insurgent fighters — armed with automatic rifles and rocket-propelled grenades — stormed the judicial compound in Muqdadiyah, about 60 miles northeast of the capital. The assault began after the attackers fired a mortar round into the police and court complex, said police Brig. Ali al-Jabouri.

After torching the police station, the insurgents detonated a string of roadside bombs as they fled, taking the bodies of many of their dead comrades with them, police said. At least 13 policemen and civilians and 15 gunmen were wounded in the attack.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

1. It's just the "last throes" of the "failed insurgency".

"Things are going, very, very, well.." General Patch, head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

The George Armstrong Custer leadership school graduates will inform us that this was another "victory".

[tanyev]

2. A sophisticated attack carried out by a few dead-enders.

[Palladin]

3. It is a sign

that the rebels have the military initiative. They are operating in larger infantry formations than the US Army or Marine Corps do now. The default US plan - to call in American air support, Apaches, Warthogs, Puff the Magic Dragons - didn't work here. It also shows that the rebels know that the US forces are essentially in a defensive mode, withdrawn into bases, trying to cut casualties. The next steps will be coordinated attacks on the American bases themselves, cutting their ground supply lines, and interdicting their vital air supply bases. Last throes indeed. Hope some reporter asks the Chimp in Chief about this at the upcoming press conference.