Second Battle of Fallujah – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Second Battle of Fallujah (Operation Phantom Fury) Part of the Iraq War U.S. Marines from Mike Battery, 4th Battalion, 14th Marines, operate the 155mm M198 howitzer at Camp Fallujah, November 2004 Date 7 November 23 December 2004[1] Location Fallujah, Iraq Result Coalition victory Belligerents United States of America Iraq United Kingdom Iraqi insurgency al-Qaeda in Iraq Commanders and leaders Richard F. Natonski James Mattis James Cowan Abdullah al-Janabi Omar Hussein Hadid Strength 10,500 troops[2] 2,000 troops[2] 850 troops[3]

Total: 13,350 troops

Iraqi: 8 killed, 43 wounded[7] British: 4 killed, 10 wounded[8][9][10] Total: 107 killed, 613 wounded

The Second Battle of Fallujah code-named Operation Al-Fajr (Arabic, "the dawn") and Operation Phantom Fury was a joint American, Iraqi, and British offensive in November and December 2004, considered the highest point of conflict in Fallujah during the Iraq War. It was led by the U.S. Marine Corps against the Iraqi insurgency stronghold in the city of Fallujah and was authorized by the U.S.-appointed Iraqi Interim Government. The U.S. military called it "some of the heaviest urban combat U.S. Marines have been involved in since the Battle of Hu City in Vietnam in 1968."[14][15]

This operation was the second major operation in Fallujah. Earlier, in April 2004, coalition forces fought the First Battle of Fallujah in order to capture or kill insurgent elements considered responsible for the deaths of a Blackwater Security team. When coalition forces (mostly U.S. Marines) fought into the center of the city, the Iraqi government requested that the city's control be transferred to an Iraqi-run local security force, which then began stockpiling weapons and building complex defenses across the city through mid-2004.[16] The second battle was the bloodiest battle of the entire Iraq War, and is notable for being the first major engagement of the Iraq War fought solely against insurgents rather than the forces of the former Ba'athist Iraqi government, which was deposed in 2003.

In February 2004, control of Fallujah and the surrounding area in the Al-Anbar province was transferred from the U.S. 82nd Airborne Division to the 1st Marine Division. Shortly afterward, on 31 March 2004, four American private military contractors from Blackwater USA were ambushed and killed in the city. Images of their mutilated bodies were broadcast around the world.[17]

Within days, U.S. Marine Corps forces launched Operation Vigilant Resolve (4 April 2004) to take back control of the city from insurgent forces. On 28 April 2004, Operation Vigilant Resolve ended with an agreement where the local population was ordered to keep the insurgents out of the city.[16] The Fallujah Brigade, composed of local Iraqis under the command of Muhammed Latif, a former Ba'athist general, was allowed to pass through coalition lines and take over the city.

Insurgent strength and control began to grow to such an extent that by 24 September 2004, a senior U.S. official told ABC News that catching Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi, said to be in Fallujah, was now "the highest priority," and estimated his troops at 5,000 men, mostly non-Iraqis.[18]

Before beginning their attack, U.S. and Iraqi forces had established checkpoints around the city to prevent anyone from entering the city, and to intercept insurgents attempting to flee.

In addition, overhead imagery was used to prepare maps of the city for use by the attackers. American units were augmented by Iraqi interpreters to assist them in the planned fight. After weeks of withstanding air strikes and artillery bombardment, the militants holed up in the city appeared to be vulnerable to direct attack.

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Second Battle of Fallujah - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia