ISIS 'hit and run' tactics reveal Iraqi security weaknesses
The Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) is briefly occupying Sunni neighborhoods then immediately withdrawing, to weaken confidence in Iraqi forces and display its power.
Iraqis held their breath on June 5, amid the steady drumbeat of news about the spread of fighters carrying Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) banners in five Samarra neighborhoods and ISIS being engaged in fierce battles with Iraqi security forces.
The reason for the concern is that Iraqis have associated the city of Samarra with the Iraqi “civil war” (2006-2008) after al-Qaeda blew up the Askari shrine in the city in February 2006.
But the matter didn’t stop with Samarra, from which the gunmen withdrew in the same way they entered. ISIS also made a strong appearance in Mosul the next day and occupied whole neighborhoods.
The next day, about 20 ISIS gunmen occupied the building of Anbar University. On the same night, ISIS carried out a series of bombings via explosives-laden cars and improvised explosive devices in Baghdad, leaving dozens of dead and wounded.
