BAGHDAD, Iraq — As opposition forces collapsed and U.S. and Kurdish troops seized the oil-rich city of Kirkuk in the north Thursday, the trend continued in Mosul as Iraqi forces abandoned the city early Friday.
The advance on Mosul came a day after the fall of Kirkuk, the other major city in the north. Both cities have economic links to nearby oil fields that have been secured virtually intact.
Nearly 100 miles to the north of Baghdad lies Tikrit, where Iraqi defenders were believed to have regrouped from other parts of the country. U.S. commandos were in the region, and warplanes were attacking, softening the battlefield for what may be the finale of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
The advance on Mosul came a day after the fall of Kirkuk, the other major city in the north. Both cities have economic links to nearby oil fields that have been secured virtually intact.
Nearly 100 miles to the north of Baghdad lies Tikrit, where Iraqi defenders were believed to have regrouped from other parts of the country. U.S. commandos were in the region, and warplanes were attacking, softening the battlefield for what may be the finale of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
