Fatma peeked out the window of her Mosul home and saw masked men lobbing mortars at a nearby Iraqi army base for the third time. She decided it would be the last.
As she telephoned to report the men, Fatma became one of an increasing number of Iraqis tipping off the authorities. Officials say it's a sign the country's fledgling security forces are winning the trust of citizens, turning them against the insurgency.
US and Iraqi officials say they have seen an increase in calls in recent weeks, especially after Iraq's Jan. 30 elections, although there were no overall figures available on how many people have offered information. In a sign the phenomenon is gathering momentum, some Iraqis told reporters that when they called in information, they were told others already had reported the same incident.
PHOTO: AP
The growing willingness of Iraqis to cooperate with officials is perhaps also a testimony to the insurgency's own mistakes, which have cost it the sympathy of some. Many say they simply are tired of violence that has overshadowed their lives or claimed people they love.
"How can an Iraqi kill another Iraqi, can a brother kill his brother? I cannot let that be," said Fatma, a 26-year-old housewife who asked that only her first name be used for fear of attacks against informants. "At first, I used to think of them as holy fighters. But after what we've been seeing on television, it became clear they were terrorists."
Like many others, Fatma said she was influenced in part by television broadcasts featuring the confessions of alleged insurgents.
Critics dismiss the shows, claiming some of the confessions are staged or coerced. But officials say the programs, which include people detailing kidnappings and even beheadings, have encouraged people to report information to authorities. Others are angered by the fact that many kidnappings are now for financial instead of political gains.
"The confessions have helped convince the people that the security forces are really working hard to rid the country of terrorism," Interior Ministry spokesman Sabah Kadhim said. "Before, they just didn't believe it."
Omar Mohammed Abdullah, a 30-year-old college student in Samarra, said he'd had enough of the explosions that shattered windows and terrified children in his neighborhood. After the militants refused to take their fight outside of the city, he reported a group planting roadside bombs on his street in Samarra, where security forces broadcast the telephone numbers for hotlines over loudspeakers.
"Before, the people sympathized very much with the resistance. They were helping and encouraging them," Abdullah said. "Now, the people are hurting and are seeing no benefit in this. They started attacking the Iraqi forces because they want chaos to prevail."
In the sprawling, western province of Anbar, US Marines say a tip line set up nearly a year ago was now getting more than 37 calls a week, and the tips have led to the detention of suspected insurgents.
But some of those ready to turn in militants say they have no sympathy for the US forces, either.
"I don't think I would have reported them if they were targeting only Americans," Abdullah said. "After all, this is an occupier."
SEEKING CHANGE: A hospital worker said she did not vote in previous elections, but ‘now I can see that maybe my vote can change the system and the country’ Voting closed yesterday across the Solomon Islands in the south Pacific nation’s first general election since the government switched diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to Beijing and struck a secret security pact that has raised fears of the Chinese navy gaining a foothold in the region. The Solomon Islands’ closer relationship with China and a troubled domestic economy weighed on voters’ minds as they cast their ballots. As many as 420,000 registered voters had their say across 50 national seats. For the first time, the national vote also coincided with elections for eight of the 10 local governments. Esther Maeluma cast her vote in the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was