Tactics of The Iraqi Insurgency - Attacks On Security Forces

Attacks On Security Forces

Another insurgent tactic that has been increasingly used since April 2004 includes large-scale assaults and raids on the Iraqi police, their police stations and compounds of Iraqi security forces, whom insurgents view as collaborators, involving platoon-sized elements or larger, often up to 150 men. Large-scale attacks have also been occasionally advanced against U.S. forces. They have been launched both by Sunni insurgents in cities such as Ramadi, Fallujah, and al-Qaim, and by Shia militiamen in cities such as Baghdad, Najaf, and Kufa during the twin uprisings of 2004. Some attacks may combine multiple weapons and tactics at once, such as rocket-propelled grenades, mortars, and car bombs. Although these attacks usually fail militarily, they are designed to convey an impression of strength on the part of the guerrillas (part of the psychological warfare campaign) and to sow general chaos.