Best Defense

Thomas E. Ricks' daily take on national security.

Iraq, the unraveling (XVII): what up in Anbar?

I expect bombs ‘n’ violence in Mosul, Basra, eastern Baghdad and Diyala province, but in Ramadi and Fallujah? Officialdom has been saying that was so 2004-2006. Also, I see that a Marine was killed in combat ops somewhere in Anbar on Sunday. Here’s the wrapup from the weekend report by Aswat al-Iraq, one of my ...

583344_090720_ramadi12.jpg
583344_090720_ramadi12.jpg

I expect bombs ‘n’ violence in Mosul, Basra, eastern Baghdad and Diyala province, but in Ramadi and Fallujah? Officialdom has been saying that was so 2004-2006. Also, I see that a Marine was killed in combat ops somewhere in Anbar on Sunday.

Here’s the wrapup from the weekend report by Aswat al-Iraq, one of my new bookmarks:

ANBAR – Two civilians on Saturday were killed and four others were injured when an explosive device detonated in Anbar’s Falluja city, according to a police source.

NINEWA – Two Iraqi soldiers on Saturday were injured in an explosive charge blast that targeted their vehicle in western Mosul city, according to a security source.

ANBAR – An improvised explosive device (IED) on Saturday killed a Sahwa council leader, along with his driver, and wounded three others, including a chieftain in Anbar province.

NINEWA – A curfew on vehicles has been put in place in eastern and southeastern Mosul city, as part of tight security measures in Ninewa province, according to a local security source.

ANBAR – Three civilians on Saturday were injured when an explosive device detonated inside a garage in northern Ramadi city, the third blast to hit Anbar province today.

BASRA – Police forces have arrested 12 suspects on criminal and terror-related charges during search raids in Basra province, a local police source said on Saturday.

And from today:

ANBAR – Two policemen were killed and four others wounded when a car bomb blast targeted their patrol in central al-Ramadi city on Monday, a local police spokesman said.

Can anyone tell me if this is an aberration, or if things are again getting frisky in al Anbar?

MUJAHED MOHAMMED/AFP/Getty Images

Thomas E. Ricks covered the U.S. military from 1991 to 2008 for the Wall Street Journal and then the Washington Post. He can be reached at ricksblogcomment@gmail.com. Twitter: @tomricks1

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