Mosul was the last stronghold of Al Qaeda in Iraq. That is no more.

Fear of unwittingly offending Al-Qaeda executioners hung for months over the residents of Iraq’s northern town of Mosul, where even an innocent cucumber could earn a street trader death.

The list of “sins” that could offend Al-Qaeda was long and, often enough, not explicit until the offender found himself a target for “execution”.

The jihadists had banned barbers from using electric shavers. Beauty parlours for women were bombed, while restaurants were not allowed to serve men and women in the same dining area, said hotel owners and residents.

Even the juxtaposition of tomatoes with cucumber on a vegetable stall offended one extreme jihadist who saw in it an attempt by the vendor to pass on a sublimal sexual message.

Now, after two weeks of Iraqi security operations in the multi-ethnic and multi-cultural Mosul, 370 kilometres (230 miles) north of the capital Baghdad, Al-Qaeda is on the run and residents say they are relieved.

In one quirk of the extremists, the use of ice was banned — apparently because it did not exist at the time of the Prophet Mohammed. Ice factories were put in cold storage and dozens of people lost jobs.

Ice factory owner Khalaf Abed Al-Hadidi said he was forced out of business by the Al-Qaeda.

“The criminals prevented people from using ice,” Hadidi said. “They prevented production and sale of ice in Mosul from last year. Last summer was tough for us, but we couldn’t use the ice factory.”

Smoking and alcohol was banned in Nineveh province which was known for its Arak, a favourite alcoholic spirit made from dates.

Some hair stylists were publicly killed by Al-Qaeda operatives, according to those who managed to keep their head down. Smoking became more dangerous for vendors than the smokers, with cigar sellers being targeted for attack.

Iraqi defence ministry spokesman Major General Mohammed al-Askari said that the continuing operations in the province had led to the detention of 1,030 suspects. He believed another 2,000 Al-Qaeda members may have fled.

“They are on the run. They can’t organise their work and we will not give them a chance,” Askari said.

How did AQ ge the boot? Largely by actions of the Iraqi government. Omar at Iraq the Model posted about this as the initiative began.