And now there has been another large attack (1,000 enemy from the Weekly Standard site article that linked to the post) repulsed by Iraqi defenders:
Iraqi security forces fought a pitched battle against al Qaeda in Iraq in the town of Amiriya this afternoon, according to Brigadier General Abdel Karim Khalaf, the director of the operations center in the Iraqi Ministry of the Interior. “Security forces supported by paramilitary units formed by Sunni tribes fought the militants in a battle that lasted several hours,” AFP reports. “Two top militants, Shakir Hadi Jassim and Mohammed Khamis, were among the dead.” Thirty-nine al Qaeda were killed and 7 were captured during the battle. There is no word on the number of security forces or “paramilitary units formed by Sunni tribes” killed during the fighting. The paramilitary units are the Emergency Response Units – battalions of tribal fighters formed by the Anbar Salvation Council.
This was the second big attack aimed at Amiriya, too. Certainly, we really need to be able to react with our forces to catch these attackers while they are massed. But I want to know why they are suddenly massing and assaulting our side instead of using terror and IEDs. This is an important change in the enemy's behavior.
Certainly, we should kill them when the chance presents itself. But we need to know why this is happening.
So what gives?
