The Washington Times reports that anti-government forces in Latifyah, just south of Baghdad, are preparing a grim welcome for Britain's Black Watch regiment when it moves north from Basra:
Preparations to fight the British are at fever pitch, with the positioning of booby traps, roadside bombs and mortars.
Some of the British forces are expected to hunker down in the city's main police station, which is fortified with huge concrete slabs. But the extremists said they have infiltrated the Iraqi national guard, and that their spies within the police will provide them with precise information about British troop movements.
Mines also are hidden in tunnels and underpasses, while the area's orange groves and palm trees provide ideal cover for guerrilla fighting. The insurgents repeatedly have blown up the rail line that brings supplies from Baghdad. No trains are running now.
The rest of the article is about how Sunni extremists dominate Latifyah.
According to the Washington Times a reporter entered the Al-Masraa mosque, one of the extremists' bases. The reporter observed "many fighters who spoke in a Syrian or Jordanian dialect."
This is not a very encouraging article. The extremists will be unpleasantly surprised if they take on the British. The fact that the extremists seem to have free reign over the mosques is very disturbing. We won't be able to defeat the extremists if the are allowed a sanctuary.
Just another brilliant plan from our Iraqi insurgent friends. Since when is attacking a heavily fortified complex manned by highly-trained and lethal troops a good idea? When you are a singularly stupid Sunni extremist, that's when.
One also thinks that Queen Latifah may want to consider a name change.
Posted by: Don Mynack | Monday, October 25, 2004 at 03:27 PM