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Mosul: The ongoing military operation launched by US and Iraqi forces in the Nineveh Governorate, mainly Mosul has raised questions - as the expected violent confrontations with Al Qaida gunmen have not materialised.
Hesham Al Hamadani, the Nineveh Governorate board chairman, told Gulf News there were two reasons for not confronting Al Qaida, the first was Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki's decision to bring highly trained military forces from Baghdad to Mosul.
The second was Mosul citizens' support and cooperation regarding the military operation, dubbed Umm Al Rabi'ain (The Mother of Two Springs).
This cooperation exceeded all expectations and information reported to Iraqi forces contributed to them detaining more than 1,500 gunmen.
It appears that thousands of Al Qaida gunmen and Ansar Al Sunna supporters in Mosul have had instructions from Al Qaida to leave Mosul to go to secret camps in the Hamrin Mountain area and also to areas close to the Iraqi-Syrian borders or inside Syrian territories to avoid the military operation strikes, Sarhan Al Hayali, an officer in the Iraqi Army, told Gulf News.
He added that delaying the military operation in Mosul for more than two months had helped Al Qaida fighters move out of the city and avoid the decisive strike.
Tahseen Hashim Hassan, a major in the special Iraqi forces which headed to Mosul from Baghdad, described the military operation as very easy and free of any trouble.
"The officers and soldiers from Baghdad said farewell to their families because we thought the battle in the Nineveh Governorate would be difficult with great sacrifices, therefore we have been very surprised because the ongoing Two Springs military operation is merely arresting gunmen without resistance," he told Gulf News.
Observers in Mosul believe the amnesty issued by Al Maliki has had a great influence on the way the campaign has been conducted and its intensity.
Aqeel Al Noaimi, a former officer in Saddam Hussain's era, told Gulf News: "Frankly, Al Maliki's decision to pardon former army officers and allow them to return to the service has had a great impact on the Mosul operation's success.
"This contributed to emptying Al Qaida of its wide range of sympathisers and collaborators and I am certain that the Al Qaida fighters' disappearance was because they were easy to catch by the Iraqi forces."
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