Iraqi police inspect the scene after policemen were slain in the western city of Haditha on March 5, 2012. Suspected Al-Qaeda gunmen, some wearing army uniforms, raged through this western Iraq city in a pre-dawn shooting spree that killed 27 policemen, including two officers killed execution-style. (Getty Images)Remember how Obama declared he was going to "end this war responsibly"?
BAGHDAD (AP) – A gang of gunmen disguised in military-style uniforms and carrying forged arrest warrants killed 25 police Monday, then hoisted the battle flag of Al Qaeda in a carefully planned early morning shooting spree in western Iraq, officials said.
The killings in Haditha highlight Al Qaeda's success in regaining a foothold in an area they once dominated through police executions and murdering city officials.
By going after police, the militants demonstrate to the residents of Haditha, a desert city closer to the Syrian border than to Baghdad, how isolated they are from the central government's protection and intimidate those who want to join the security forces.
The city's proximity to the border, just 65 miles away, means it is vital territory to Al Qaeda if they want to ramp up operations in Syria to help overthrow the government of President Bashar Assad. Already, Sunni militants who revile Assad because he's a member of an offshoot religion of Shiism are crossing from Iraq into Syria.
The killings carried out by Al Qaeda Monday morning demonstrated a high degree of coordination, knowledge of their targets and a boldness that indicated little fear of the local security forces ability to fight back.
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