A strange but positive story out of Iraq from the McClatchey News Service. It's the story of two fierce enemies - the US Army and the insurgent, Islamic Army of Iraq - joining forces temporarily to drive al-Qaeda out ofthe Baghdad neighbourhood of Amariyah:
"Under cover of darkness, a convoy of Bradley Fighting Vehicles and M-1 tanks loaded with American soldiers pulled up to a mosque Monday night in the neighborhood of Amariyah.
"More than a dozen members of the anti-American insurgent Islamic Army of Iraq and some local residents waited for them, armed with AK-47 rifles and dressed in track suits and T-shirts.
But the two forces didn't clash. Instead, they shared information and supplies, in a growing push by the Islamic Army of Iraq and neighborhood residents to push al-Qaida's foreign fighters from Amariyah.
"Capt. Andy Wilbraham, the commander of Delta Company of the 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, of the 1st Cavalry Division, from Fort Hood, Texas, called the men the "honorable insurgency" and "the good bad guys." He said the Iraqis' decision to ally with the Americans, in the battle against al-Qaida at least, had given him hope that Baghdad's Sunni Muslims would follow the lead of tribal heads in Anbar province and help the Americans drive out al-Qaida.
"That won't necessarily mean they'll be long-term allies, however.
"One of the men present, who called himself Abu Bilal, said privately that he remained committed to expelling the Americans from Iraq. But for now, the battle was against al-Qaida's fighters, who he said had turned his neighborhood into a dump for garbage and bodies."
"Under cover of darkness, a convoy of Bradley Fighting Vehicles and M-1 tanks loaded with American soldiers pulled up to a mosque Monday night in the neighborhood of Amariyah.
"More than a dozen members of the anti-American insurgent Islamic Army of Iraq and some local residents waited for them, armed with AK-47 rifles and dressed in track suits and T-shirts.
But the two forces didn't clash. Instead, they shared information and supplies, in a growing push by the Islamic Army of Iraq and neighborhood residents to push al-Qaida's foreign fighters from Amariyah.
"Capt. Andy Wilbraham, the commander of Delta Company of the 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, of the 1st Cavalry Division, from Fort Hood, Texas, called the men the "honorable insurgency" and "the good bad guys." He said the Iraqis' decision to ally with the Americans, in the battle against al-Qaida at least, had given him hope that Baghdad's Sunni Muslims would follow the lead of tribal heads in Anbar province and help the Americans drive out al-Qaida.
"That won't necessarily mean they'll be long-term allies, however.
"One of the men present, who called himself Abu Bilal, said privately that he remained committed to expelling the Americans from Iraq. But for now, the battle was against al-Qaida's fighters, who he said had turned his neighborhood into a dump for garbage and bodies."
The Islamic Army in Iraq has been a fierce opponent of the US occupation forces. It's fighters have been responsible for a great many sniper, rocket and improvised explosive device attacks on American forces.
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