Say some enemy had occupied the US and you disliked this occupation. You had some forces under your command, and sympathetic locals inside several cities. It would mean one thing if you sent your troops to openly take possession of, oh, say, Chicago, but it would mean something else entirely to take back Philadelphia, Cradle of Liberty, home of Independence Hall and all that. Or if you had to work on a slightly smaller scale, a retaking of Gettysburg would send a different message than the liberation of Paducah.

Forces generally said to be under the direction of, or at least allied with, Moqtada al-Sadr took a town the US media is calling Amara.
More significant perhaps is what happened in Kut-al-Amara in the winter of 1915-16. It's a short wiki piece, perhaps a bit longer on military detail than social, but it's worth a look. al-Sadr is not a stupid man, oh my no. This may not be the Philadelphia of Iraq, but it might at least ring in their ears like the names of Yorktown, Bunker Hill, Chickamauga or Vicksburg would to us.

(As in the latter case, a river plays a major strategic role here. It is not a good thing if we have to leave in any sort of haste, if this town be held against us.)