In other parts of Iraq, especially those where Sunni and Shia Arabs live close to each other (as in Baghdad and Mosul), gunmen continue to threaten prominent Iraqis and demand that these Iraqis support one faction or the other. Unlike in the past, the Iraqi government is not carrying out these terror tactics. Iraqi police are still fighting to take back towns and neighborhoods, one by one. But it's a bitter process, as local gangs and strongmen resist, often violently, the return of law and order.