Iraqi neighbourhood holds out against jihadists
Caught between jihadists and the Tigris River, residents of one neighbourhood in a Sunni town in Iraq have taken up arms alongside security forces and held out for months. If the fighters, police and soldiers defending the Jubur area in Dhuluiyah north of Baghdad repel the Islamic State (IS) -- a Sunni jihadist group -- […]Caught between jihadists and the Tigris River, residents of one neighbourhood in a Sunni town in Iraq have taken up arms alongside security forces and held out for months. If the fighters, police and soldiers defending the Jubur area in Dhuluiyah north of Baghdad repel the Islamic State (IS) -- a Sunni jihadist group -- it would be a powerful symbol of resistance for the forces battling against it. And it could help gain support for the anti-jihadist fight among Iraqi Sunni Arabs who feel they have been marginalised by the Shiite-led government and targeted by its security forces. Their backing is key to regaining ground from IS and allied groups that overran much of the Sunni Arab heartland in June. Jubur, named for the tribe that resides there, is an idyllic area of colourful houses, soaring palm trees and the reed-lined Tigris, but the peace is broken by periodic bursts of machinegun and rifle fire and explosions.
