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."
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