Kurdish fighters take position in northern Iraq

SALAHEDDIN, Northern Iraq, April 9 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – U.S. and Kurdish forces dislodged Iraqis from a mountain used to defend the northern city of Mosul on Wednesday, April 9, in one of the most significant developments on the northern front.

"That area was heavily defended by Iraqis throughout the campaign. From our perspective this is the most important gain of the northern front so far," said Hoshiyar Zebari, political adviser to Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) leader Massoud Barzani.

Zebari said U.S. forces, allied with local Kurdish fighters, took the Maqloub mountain, some nine miles northeast of Mosul, in the early hours of Wednesday.

By taking the mountains, which overlook the city, they are now within striking distance of Mosul, said Zebari, adding that "we were surprised by the lack of resistance."

"Little fighting took place and there wasn't so much resistance from the Iraqis," Zebari was quoted by Agence France-Presse (AFP) as saying.

Speaking in Salaheddin, where the KDP has its headquarters, Zebari said "our information was that area was heavily defended."

He said the ease with which they took the mountains underlined the "demoralized situation of Iraqi army and troops".

Serbest Babiri, local commander of the KDP fighters, also said he thought Mosul would be easy to take.

"My expectation is that it will not be difficult as the morale of the Iraqi troops is very low," he told Reuters on top of Mount Maqloub.

"This is a very strategic position and as a military man I am very happy to be here," he said, standing near the 1,600-year old Saint Matthew monastery, which belongs to the Damascus-based Syriac Orthodox Christian church.

"We will stay here waiting for new orders," he added.

"Full Cooperation"

Zebari said he thought the U.S. forces and Kurdish "peshmerga" fighters would now march on Mosul, Iraq's third largest city, some 240 miles north of Baghdad.

But he stressed that the peshmerga would not do so alone.

"The Kurdish forces will not move unilaterally or independently to Mosul and Kirkuk, Zibari insisted.

"This has taken place in full coordination with U.S. forces (...) this is part of our strategy, working together. Every other step will be decided jointly."

This is a sensitive issue for Kurds, who want to retake the two historically Kurdish cities, while avoiding antagonizing neighboring Turkey, which has a large Kurdish minority of its own and fears Iraqi Kurds may attempt to set up a Kurdish state.

Turkey had threatened to send in its own troops to northern Iraq, and has come under U.S. pressure not to do so, but Iraqi Kurds still see a possible Turkish incursion as a major concern.

It was not immediately clear how many U.S. forces and Kurdish fighters were involved in the assault on the mountain.

The Iraqis appear to have fled in a hurry, as, according to Zebari, they "have left behind a lot of equipment", mostly anti-aircraft equipment and ammunitions.

"Strengthened Contacts"

In the meanwhile, there has been a strengthening of links between the various groups opposed to President Saddam Hussein's regime around the country.

"We have seen an increased number of contacts inside Mosul, Baghdad and Kirkuk, as people try to establish contacts. They want an exit, let's say a strategic road for themselves," said Zibari.

"We have seen those contacts increase not only from the north but from people as far as the west of Iraq to very powerful Arab Sunni tribes, and from Baghdad itself," said the KDP political advisor.

Mosul, with its strategic importance due to its airport and an Iraqi missile-launching base, has been the target of American bombs since the start of the war on March 20.

The Kurdish-ruled zone in the far north has been autonomous since the 1991 Gulf War, protected by a U.S. and British-patrolled no-fly zone.