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The
Iraqi government has sent national guard
reinforcements to the northern city of Mosul after
an upsurge in violence there.
The authorities in Baghdad sacked Mosul's police
chief after police stations were overrun and armed
gangs began roaming the streets.
The offices of two Kurdish political parties were
attacked on Friday.
Rebels are reported to have taken over parts of the
city, but a US spokesman insisted US-led forces had
control.
Residents have reported that masked gunmen have been
looting weapons and attacking police.
Co-operation alleged
Brig Gen Carter Ham, commander of US forces in Mosul,
said US forces had expected "some reaction" in the
city in response to the US-led assault on Falluja.
But he told US news network CNN he doubted the
militants had come to the northern city having
escaped from Falluja.
Most "were from the northern part of Iraq, in and
around Mosul and the Tigris river valley that's
south of the city", he said.
The interim Iraqi government fired Mosul's police
chief after nine police stations fell into the hands
of insurgents on Friday.
An official of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan
party alleged that many police in the city were
co-operating with the militants.
The party's headquarters was attacked in a gun
battle that left six fighters dead, he told
Associated Press.
Ghibwar Faiqa, a senior member of a second Kurdish
party, the Islamic Union of Kurdistan, said
militants had ordered people to evacuate the party's
offices before burning them down.
Curfew imposed
Insurgents also assassinated the head of Mosul's
anti-crime task force, Brig Gen Mowaffaq Mohammed
Dahham, and torched his home, AP reported.
The four battalions of national guards brought in to
restore order were dispatched from garrisons along
the Syrian and Iranian borders.
The US carried out air strikes on Thursday night
after a rise in attacks in the city.
Masked rebels overran and set fire to several police
stations, looted weapons and ammunition and roamed
the streets, setting fire to police cars.
The US military said it had launched its operation
after a request of the city's governor.
He imposed an indefinite curfew on Wednesday after
militants killed four members of the Iraqi security
forces and a foreign contractor.
Mosul has seen a spate of suicide car bombings
against Iraqi and US forces in recent weeks.
http://news.bbc.co.uk
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