Kurdish forces play waiting game on northern front

ON a scrap of paper, the Kurdish commander drew a line representing the northern front. Then Majid Harki wrote a single word he repeats often to his frontline fighters: “suber” — patience.

"We pick the time and place to strike," he said after helping US Special Forces pinpoint Iraqi gunners near a strategic crossroads about 55 miles south-west of Mosul. "We want to be a sharp blade, not a bulldozer."

Out of necessity, this has become the battlefield doctrine in the north, limited operations but controlled by US strategy.

From Kuwait, coalition forces relentlessly pushed for territory from the start of the war. But in the north-western Kurdish region, it was several days before US soldiers even announced their presence.

The reason for the uneven offensives is not just the gap in US firepower, but also sticky regional politics.

US military officials had planned to send up to 60,000 ground troops into the Kurdish zone from Turkey to squeeze Saddam from two directions. But Turkey said no.

With the Turkish border closed to US forces, the only option was the air. About 1,200 paratroopers dropped into northern Iraq on March 27 to join some American special forces. More have arrived since.

But their strength is still nowhere near enough to launch ground assaults against the heavily defended northern cities of Mosul and Kirkuk.

The estimated 70,000 Kurdish fighters insist they are ready any time. Again, Turkey has raised obstacles.

Turkish leaders object to any Kurdish grab of Kirkuk, in the country's second biggest oil region and considered by Iraqi Kurds as part of their heartland.

Turkey worries that a stronger and richer Kurdish population inside Iraq could stoke independence aspirations among separatist Kurdish guerrillas in Turkey.

The dispute left the northern front plans hobbled.

"You must understand this is all America's war," said frontline Kurdish commander Farhad Yunus Ahmed. "Our leaders have decided to do it America's way. This means we cannot decide anything on our own."

This US control was on clear display last week during a battle for an important bridge on a main road to Mosul, the country's third-largest city.

US Special Forces directed air strikes and Kurds moved forward to claim the bridge at Khazer as Iraqis fled.

Hours later, however, US commanders ordered the Kurds to pull back over the bridge. Today, the bridge remained in no man's land.

But with coalition forces now in Baghdad, the sluggish northern front has shown signs of becoming more aggressive. Coalition aircraft hit an ammunition dump in Mosul yesterday, Kurdish officials said. On Sunday, US troops fought alongside Kurdish militiamen to push Iraqi forces from Ain Sifni, 25 miles north of Mosul.

Near Dibagah, a US plane mistakenly bombed a convoy of US and Kurdish forces. The blast killed at least 17 Kurdish fighters and a BBC translator.

The hope is stubborn northern resistance will crumble as Saddam's regime is chipped apart. But not everyone is predicting a bloodless finale.

Kirkuk is a particular worry.

A Kurdish commander with forces just 12 miles from Kirkuk said it's possible the oil wells in the area are rigged with explosives and mines.

"We fully expect them to be ready to explode if we storm in," said Ares Abdullah. "We saw them do it in the 1991 Gulf War. Why not now?"

Abdullah also said military sources suggest Kirkuk's defences are led by a Republican Guard brigade with ties to Izzat Ibrahim Al-Douri, one of Saddam's long-time confidants.

"We hope the cities will fall from Saddam's grasp without a fight," said Abdullah. "Do I believe this will happen? Unfortunately, no."