American units were augmented by Iraqi interpreters to assist them in the planned fight. In addition, overhead imagery was used to prepare maps of the city for use by the attackers. and Iraqi forces had established checkpoints around the city to prevent anyone from entering the city, and to intercept insurgents attempting to flee. The battery was based at Camp Fallujah, Iraq and was supporting Operation Phantom Fury.īefore beginning their attack, U.S. Marines from Mike Battery, 4th Battalion, 14th Marines, an activated reserve artillery unit, operate the 155mm M198 howitzer in November 2004. Operation Phantom Fury is the bloodiest battle of the Iraq War. Marines are killed in the last skirmish, along with 24 insurgents. 23 December 2004: Last pockets of resistance are neutralized.16 November 2004: American spokesmen describe fighting in the city as mopping up isolated pockets of resistance.8 November 2004: Operation Phantom Fury begins.American UAVs observed insurgents conducting live-fire exercises in the city in preparation for the coming attack. Additionally, elevated sniper positions have been created along with heavily fortified defensive positions throughout the city, in preparation for a major offensive. In the city, now under complete insurgent control with no American presence since April, there is a large number of booby traps and IEDs constructed and set in place. 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. The Fallujah Brigade, composed of local Iraqis under the command of Muhammed Latif, a former Baathistgeneral, 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. On 28 April 2004, Operation Vigilant Resolve ended with an agreement where the local population is ordered to keep the insurgents out of the city. Marine Corps forces launched Operation Vigilant Resolve (4 April 2004) to take back control of the city from insurgent forces. Images of their mutilated bodies were broadcast around the world.Within days, U.S. Shortly afterward, on 31 March 2004, four American Blackwater USA contractors were ambushed and killedin the city. 82nd Airborne Division to the 1st Marine Division. Natonski James Mattis James Cowanġ0,500 troops 2,000 troops 850 troops Total: 13,350 troopsĪmerican: 95 killed, 560 wounded (54 killed and 425 wounded from November 7 to November 16) Iraqi: 8 killed, 43 wounded British: 4 killed, 10 wounded Total: 107 killed, 613 woundedīackgroundIn February, 2004, control of Fallujah and the surrounding area in the Al-Anbar province was transferred from the U.S. Iraqi insurgency Mujahideen Shura Council Al-Qaeda in Iraq United States of America Iraqi security forces United Kingdom Marines fight in the city of Fallujah, Iraq during the Second Battle of Fallujah, in 2004. Second Battle of Fallujah (Operation Phantom Fury) This was the bloodiest battle of the Iraq War to date, 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. 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 in mid-2004. When Coalition Forces (the majority being U.S. 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. This operation was the second major operation in Fallujah. Marines have been involved in since the Battle of Huế City in Vietnam in 1968.

military called it “some of the heaviest urban combat 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 Second Battle of Fallujah ( code-named Operation Al-Fajr ( Arabic, “the dawn”) and Operation Phantom Fury) was a joint U.S., Iraqi, and British offensive in November and December 2004, considered the highest point of conflict in Fallujah during the Iraq War.

Operation phantom fury tf 22 attack