Substantial insurgent attack on Iraqi police

In late March, Iraqi insurgents launched two attacks on police stations. (Link, Link) Those attacks were of a degree not seen since Fallujah in early 2004.

Another substantial attack was launched yesterday. The Los Angeles Times:

BAGHDAD — Clashes broke out Thursday in the ethnically and religiously mixed Diyala province northeast of Baghdad, with more than 30 people reported killed in intense fighting.

Witnesses said that at least 100 insurgents attacked police stations and checkpoints in enclaves near the provincial capital of Baqubah, leaving at least a dozen dead. Gen. Adnan Bawi, provincial police commander, said the attackers came in six waves in an attempt to take over the city.

U.S. helicopter gunships launched airstrikes on suspected insurgent positions in the dense thicket of orchards surrounding the area, police said.

American military officials said 21 insurgents were killed and 43 captured in the fighting. At least seven members of the Iraqi security forces and two civilians were injured, a news release said.

Authorities established a curfew until 4 p.m. today.

The skirmish appears to have been decided only with the introduction of American technological and military superiority. This yields two lessons: the Iraqi police cannot stand alone without suffering substantial casualties, and the insurgency remains capable of large attacks.