Mike,

Many thanks.

An interesting article, not least because it places the use of the tactic in the context of an overall operation (i.e. taking and controlling the town) - to date I've been thinking almost exclusively about the tactical aspects, rather than the wider operational/strategic agenda/objectives of groups.

A couple of tantalising little snippets in there too:

The training camps operated in a five sequential phases: Phase One: Traffic Control Points, Phase Two: Basic Rifle Marksmanship, Phase Three: Infantry Tactics, Phase Four: Explosives, and Phase Five: Martyrdom Operations.
and

On 10 November, AQIZ overran the IP station with a spectacular attack consisting of a Suicide Car Bomber followed by an infantry assault.
The latter is another aspect I am interested in. Is this the AQIZ equivalent of a combined arms* attack? And as such does it represent a higher degree of organizational capability? Interesting also because its the first time I've seen a mention of such an assault being successful (i.e. they overran the outpost).

Thanks again for taking the time.

GH

*Wikipedia definition: Combined arms is an approach to warfare which seeks to integrate different arms of a military to achieve mutually complementary effects.