Iraq Crisis: Saddam’s Men Return to Power in City Once Held By US (+video)
Photo Credit: Anadolu Agency / GettyIt was once the emblem of US military success in Iraq – the city where American forces defeated their adversaries twice. First they drove out the army of Saddam Hussein, and later the Islamist militants who rose up against the occupation.
Less than a decade later, the two US foes have joined forces to seize back Tal Afar, and the machine guns and armoured vehicles that American troops left behind to defend its new-found freedom are being used by the very insurgents they sought to defeat.
The arrival of the jihadists from the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham in northern Iraq has brought on sectarian insurgency anew, and loyalists to the late Saddam Hussein have once again picked up their arms to fight.
On Sunday, Isis jihadists, backed by local Baathist remnants from Saddam’s old regime, overran Tal Afar, causing the exodus of most of the city’s Shia community.
“It is Baathists from Tal Afar who enabled Isis to take over the town. They have a strong presence and are very well organised,” said one senior Iraqi intelligence officer from the area. “This is the return of Saddam’s men.”
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