Fallouja illustrates Iraq’s challenge in retaking cities from Islamic State
At the Nuaimiyah military base on the edge of long-troubled Fallouja, Iraqi soldiers often sleep outdoors, gambling that they will be better protected by sandbags than by flimsy, flammable huts as they endure a nightly cascade of mortar shells and fiery flares. "The walls are corkboard," explained one officer. "They can't withstand anything, so we prefer […]Nabih Bulos reports for the L.A. Times:
At the Nuaimiyah military base on the edge of long-troubled Fallouja, Iraqi soldiers often sleep outdoors, gambling that they will be better protected by sandbags than by flimsy, flammable huts as they endure a nightly cascade of mortar shells and fiery flares. "The walls are corkboard," explained one officer. "They can't withstand anything, so we prefer to sleep in the sandbag bunkers."
Pausing a moment, he added: "When we can sleep at all." The officer, who refused to be named for security reasons, had good reason to be worried. Less than a quarter of a mile away, in squat gray structures, are Islamic State militants.
