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<li id="toc-Causes" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Causes"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1.1</span> <span>Causes</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Causes-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Provocation_and_the_start_of_the_offensive" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Provocation_and_the_start_of_the_offensive"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1.2</span> <span>Provocation and the start of the offensive</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Provocation_and_the_start_of_the_offensive-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-April_fighting" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#April_fighting"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2</span> <span>April fighting</span> </div> </a> <button 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id="toc-First_Battle_of_Fallujah" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#First_Battle_of_Fallujah"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2.2.1</span> <span>First Battle of Fallujah</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-First_Battle_of_Fallujah-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Battle_of_Ramadi" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Battle_of_Ramadi"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2.2.2</span> <span>Battle of Ramadi</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Battle_of_Ramadi-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Battle_of_Husaybah" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Battle_of_Husaybah"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2.2.3</span> <span>Battle of Husaybah</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Battle_of_Husaybah-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Fallujah_peace_attempts" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Fallujah_peace_attempts"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2.2.4</span> <span>Fallujah peace attempts</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Fallujah_peace_attempts-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Hostage_tactics" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Hostage_tactics"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3</span> <span>Hostage tactics</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Hostage_tactics-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Operations_in_May" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Operations_in_May"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4</span> <span>Operations in May</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Operations_in_May-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Close_of_operations" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Close_of_operations"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">5</span> <span>Close of operations</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Close_of_operations-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Aftermath" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Aftermath"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">6</span> <span>Aftermath</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Aftermath-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-See_also" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#See_also"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">7</span> <span>See also</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-See_also-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-References" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#References"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">8</span> <span>References</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-References-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div class="mw-content-container"> <main id="content" class="mw-body"> <header class="mw-body-header vector-page-titlebar"> <nav aria-label="Contents" class="vector-toc-landmark"> <div id="vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown vector-page-titlebar-toc vector-button-flush-left" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Toggle the table of contents" > <label id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-label" 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Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.<br /><small><span class="plainlinks"><i>Find sources:</i> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.google.com/search?as_eq=wikipedia&q=%222004+Iraq+spring+fighting%22">"2004 Iraq spring fighting"</a> – <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.google.com/search?tbm=nws&q=%222004+Iraq+spring+fighting%22+-wikipedia&tbs=ar:1">news</a> <b>·</b> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.google.com/search?&q=%222004+Iraq+spring+fighting%22&tbs=bkt:s&tbm=bks">newspapers</a> <b>·</b> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.google.com/search?tbs=bks:1&q=%222004+Iraq+spring+fighting%22+-wikipedia">books</a> <b>·</b> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=%222004+Iraq+spring+fighting%22">scholar</a> <b>·</b> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" 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.stack-clear-right{float:right;clear:right}.mw-parser-output .stack-left{float:left}.mw-parser-output .stack-right{float:right}.mw-parser-output .stack-margin-clear-left{float:left;clear:left;margin-right:1em}.mw-parser-output .stack-margin-clear-right{float:right;clear:right;margin-left:1em}.mw-parser-output .stack-margin-left{float:left;margin-right:1em}.mw-parser-output .stack-margin-right{float:right;margin-left:1em}}</style><div class="stack mw-stack stack-clear-right"><div><table class="infobox vevent" style="width:25.5em;border-spacing:2px;"><tbody><tr><th class="summary" colspan="2" style="background-color:#C3D6EF;color:inherit;text-align:center;vertical-align:middle;font-size:110%;">2004 Iraq spring fighting</th></tr><tr><td colspan="2" style="background-color:#DCDCDC;color:inherit;text-align:center;vertical-align:middle;">Part of the <a href="/wiki/Iraq_War" title="Iraq War">Iraq War</a></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2" style="text-align:center;border-bottom:1px solid #aaa;line-height:1.5em;"><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Pi041604d6.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/28/Pi041604d6.jpg/300px-Pi041604d6.jpg" decoding="async" width="300" height="199" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/28/Pi041604d6.jpg/450px-Pi041604d6.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/28/Pi041604d6.jpg 2x" data-file-width="500" data-file-height="332" /></a></span><br />US soldiers peer over a rooftop ledge to fix in enemy targets in <a href="/wiki/Fallujah" title="Fallujah">Fallujah</a></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2"><table style="width:100%;margin:0;padding:0;border:0;display:inline-table"><tbody><tr><th style="padding-right:1em">Date</th><td>April 4, 2004 – June 24, 2004</td></tr><tr><th style="padding-right:1em">Location</th><td><div class="location"><a href="/wiki/Iraq" title="Iraq">Iraq</a></div></td></tr><tr><th style="padding-right:1em">Result</th><td class="status"> <p>Indecisive </p> <ul><li>Major strategic gains by insurgents</li> <li>U.S. manages to retain control of at least 60% of the country</li></ul></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr><tr><th colspan="2" style="background-color:#C3D6EF;color:inherit;text-align:center;vertical-align:middle;font-size:110%;">Belligerents</th></tr><tr><td style="width:50%;border-right:1px dotted #aaa;"> Coalition Forces:<br /><span class="flagicon"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/United_States" title="United States"><img alt="United States" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a4/Flag_of_the_United_States.svg/23px-Flag_of_the_United_States.svg.png" decoding="async" width="23" height="12" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a4/Flag_of_the_United_States.svg/35px-Flag_of_the_United_States.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a4/Flag_of_the_United_States.svg/46px-Flag_of_the_United_States.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="1235" data-file-height="650" /></a></span></span> <a href="/wiki/United_States" title="United States">United States</a><br /><span class="flagicon"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/United_Kingdom" title="United Kingdom"><img alt="United Kingdom" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/ae/Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg/23px-Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg.png" decoding="async" width="23" height="12" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/ae/Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg/35px-Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/ae/Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg/46px-Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="1200" data-file-height="600" /></a></span></span> <a href="/wiki/United_Kingdom" title="United Kingdom">United Kingdom</a><br /><span class="flagicon"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/Spain" title="Spain"><img alt="Spain" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/9a/Flag_of_Spain.svg/23px-Flag_of_Spain.svg.png" decoding="async" width="23" height="15" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/9a/Flag_of_Spain.svg/35px-Flag_of_Spain.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/9a/Flag_of_Spain.svg/45px-Flag_of_Spain.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="750" data-file-height="500" /></a></span></span> <a href="/wiki/Spain" title="Spain">Spain</a><br /><span class="flagicon"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/Australia" title="Australia"><img alt="Australia" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/88/Flag_of_Australia_%28converted%29.svg/23px-Flag_of_Australia_%28converted%29.svg.png" decoding="async" width="23" height="12" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/88/Flag_of_Australia_%28converted%29.svg/35px-Flag_of_Australia_%28converted%29.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/88/Flag_of_Australia_%28converted%29.svg/46px-Flag_of_Australia_%28converted%29.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="1280" data-file-height="640" /></a></span></span> <a href="/wiki/Australia" title="Australia">Australia</a><br /><span class="flagicon"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/Poland" title="Poland"><img alt="Poland" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/1/12/Flag_of_Poland.svg/23px-Flag_of_Poland.svg.png" decoding="async" width="23" height="14" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/1/12/Flag_of_Poland.svg/35px-Flag_of_Poland.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/1/12/Flag_of_Poland.svg/46px-Flag_of_Poland.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="1280" data-file-height="800" /></a></span></span> <a href="/wiki/Poland" title="Poland">Poland</a><br /><span class="flagicon"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/Iraq" title="Iraq"><img alt="Iraq" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5e/Flag_of_Iraq_%282004%E2%80%932008%29.svg/23px-Flag_of_Iraq_%282004%E2%80%932008%29.svg.png" decoding="async" width="23" height="15" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5e/Flag_of_Iraq_%282004%E2%80%932008%29.svg/35px-Flag_of_Iraq_%282004%E2%80%932008%29.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5e/Flag_of_Iraq_%282004%E2%80%932008%29.svg/45px-Flag_of_Iraq_%282004%E2%80%932008%29.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="900" data-file-height="600" /></a></span></span> <a href="/wiki/New_Iraqi_Army" class="mw-redirect" title="New Iraqi Army">New Iraqi Army</a><br /><span class="flagicon"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/05/Flag_of_Multi-National_Force_%E2%80%93_Iraq.png/23px-Flag_of_Multi-National_Force_%E2%80%93_Iraq.png" decoding="async" width="23" height="16" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/05/Flag_of_Multi-National_Force_%E2%80%93_Iraq.png/35px-Flag_of_Multi-National_Force_%E2%80%93_Iraq.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/05/Flag_of_Multi-National_Force_%E2%80%93_Iraq.png/46px-Flag_of_Multi-National_Force_%E2%80%93_Iraq.png 2x" data-file-width="278" data-file-height="196" /></span></span></span> <a href="/wiki/Multinational_force_in_Iraq" class="mw-redirect" title="Multinational force in Iraq">Multinational forces in Iraq</a></td><td style="width:50%;padding-left:0.25em"> Insurgent groups:<br /><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Flag_of_the_Ba%27ath_Party.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/35/Flag_of_the_Ba%27ath_Party.svg/22px-Flag_of_the_Ba%27ath_Party.svg.png" decoding="async" width="22" height="15" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/35/Flag_of_the_Ba%27ath_Party.svg/33px-Flag_of_the_Ba%27ath_Party.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/35/Flag_of_the_Ba%27ath_Party.svg/44px-Flag_of_the_Ba%27ath_Party.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="1200" data-file-height="800" /></a></span> <a href="/wiki/Arab_Socialist_Ba%27ath_Party_%E2%80%93_Iraq_Region" title="Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Iraq Region">Ba'ath Party loyalists</a><br /><span class="flagicon"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/08/Flag_of_JTJ.svg/23px-Flag_of_JTJ.svg.png" decoding="async" width="23" height="12" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/08/Flag_of_JTJ.svg/35px-Flag_of_JTJ.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/08/Flag_of_JTJ.svg/46px-Flag_of_JTJ.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="998" data-file-height="499" /></span></span></span> <a href="/wiki/Jama%27at_al-Tawhid_wal-Jihad" title="Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad">Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad</a><br /><span class="flagicon"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6b/Flag_of_Islamic_Army_In_Iraq.svg/23px-Flag_of_Islamic_Army_In_Iraq.svg.png" decoding="async" width="23" height="14" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6b/Flag_of_Islamic_Army_In_Iraq.svg/35px-Flag_of_Islamic_Army_In_Iraq.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6b/Flag_of_Islamic_Army_In_Iraq.svg/46px-Flag_of_Islamic_Army_In_Iraq.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="512" data-file-height="307" /></span></span></span> <a href="/wiki/Islamic_Army_in_Iraq" title="Islamic Army in Iraq">Islamic Army in Iraq</a><br /><span class="flagicon"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/30/Flag_of_Jihad.svg/23px-Flag_of_Jihad.svg.png" decoding="async" width="23" height="12" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/30/Flag_of_Jihad.svg/35px-Flag_of_Jihad.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/30/Flag_of_Jihad.svg/46px-Flag_of_Jihad.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="1000" data-file-height="500" /></span></span></span> <a href="/wiki/1920_Revolution_Brigade" class="mw-redirect" title="1920 Revolution Brigade">1920 Revolution Brigade</a><br /><span class="flagicon"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/30/Flag_of_Jihad.svg/23px-Flag_of_Jihad.svg.png" decoding="async" width="23" height="12" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/30/Flag_of_Jihad.svg/35px-Flag_of_Jihad.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/30/Flag_of_Jihad.svg/46px-Flag_of_Jihad.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="1000" data-file-height="500" /></span></span></span> <a href="/wiki/Mujahideen_Army_(Iraq)" title="Mujahideen Army (Iraq)">Army of Mujahideen</a><br /><span class="flagicon"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/35/Flag_of_Jama%27at_Ansar_al-Sunnah.svg/23px-Flag_of_Jama%27at_Ansar_al-Sunnah.svg.png" decoding="async" width="23" height="15" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/35/Flag_of_Jama%27at_Ansar_al-Sunnah.svg/35px-Flag_of_Jama%27at_Ansar_al-Sunnah.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/35/Flag_of_Jama%27at_Ansar_al-Sunnah.svg/46px-Flag_of_Jama%27at_Ansar_al-Sunnah.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="522" data-file-height="346" /></span></span></span> <a href="/wiki/Jamaat_Ansar_al-Sunna" title="Jamaat Ansar al-Sunna">Jamaat Ansar al-Sunna</a><br /><span class="flagicon"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Flag_of_Ansar_al-Islam.svg/23px-Flag_of_Ansar_al-Islam.svg.png" decoding="async" width="23" height="14" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Flag_of_Ansar_al-Islam.svg/35px-Flag_of_Ansar_al-Islam.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Flag_of_Ansar_al-Islam.svg/46px-Flag_of_Ansar_al-Islam.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="319" data-file-height="195" /></span></span></span> <a href="/wiki/Ansar_al-Islam_in_Kurdistan" title="Ansar al-Islam in Kurdistan">Ansar al-Islam</a><br /><span class="flagicon"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1c/Flag_of_the_Mahdi_Army.svg/23px-Flag_of_the_Mahdi_Army.svg.png" decoding="async" width="23" height="15" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1c/Flag_of_the_Mahdi_Army.svg/35px-Flag_of_the_Mahdi_Army.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1c/Flag_of_the_Mahdi_Army.svg/45px-Flag_of_the_Mahdi_Army.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="3465" data-file-height="2310" /></span></span></span> <a href="/wiki/Mahdi_Army" title="Mahdi Army">Mahdi Army</a><br /><a href="/wiki/Iraqi_insurgency_(Iraq_War)" class="mw-redirect" title="Iraqi insurgency (Iraq War)">Other insurgent groups and militias</a></td></tr><tr><th colspan="2" style="background-color:#C3D6EF;color:inherit;text-align:center;vertical-align:middle;font-size:110%;">Commanders and leaders</th></tr><tr><td style="width:50%;border-right:1px dotted #aaa;"> <span class="flagicon"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/United_States" title="United States"><img alt="United States" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a4/Flag_of_the_United_States.svg/23px-Flag_of_the_United_States.svg.png" decoding="async" width="23" height="12" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a4/Flag_of_the_United_States.svg/35px-Flag_of_the_United_States.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a4/Flag_of_the_United_States.svg/46px-Flag_of_the_United_States.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="1235" data-file-height="650" /></a></span></span> Gen. <a href="/wiki/John_Abizaid" title="John Abizaid">John Abizaid</a><br /><span class="flagicon"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/United_States" title="United States"><img alt="United States" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a4/Flag_of_the_United_States.svg/23px-Flag_of_the_United_States.svg.png" decoding="async" width="23" height="12" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a4/Flag_of_the_United_States.svg/35px-Flag_of_the_United_States.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a4/Flag_of_the_United_States.svg/46px-Flag_of_the_United_States.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="1235" data-file-height="650" /></a></span></span> Col. <a href="/wiki/Peter_Mansoor" title="Peter Mansoor">Peter Mansoor</a></td><td style="width:50%;padding-left:0.25em"> <span class="flagicon"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/08/Flag_of_JTJ.svg/23px-Flag_of_JTJ.svg.png" decoding="async" width="23" height="12" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/08/Flag_of_JTJ.svg/35px-Flag_of_JTJ.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/08/Flag_of_JTJ.svg/46px-Flag_of_JTJ.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="998" data-file-height="499" /></span></span></span> <a href="/wiki/Abu_Musab_al-Zarqawi" title="Abu Musab al-Zarqawi">Abu Musab al-Zarqawi</a> (Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad)<br /><a href="/wiki/Mahdi_Al-Sumaidaie" title="Mahdi Al-Sumaidaie">Mahdi Al-Sumaidaie</a><br />(Islamist leader)<br /><a href="/wiki/Abdullah_al-Janabi" title="Abdullah al-Janabi">Abdullah al-Janabi</a><br />(Islamist leader)<br />Omar Hadid<br />(Islamist commander)<br /><span class="flagicon"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1c/Flag_of_the_Mahdi_Army.svg/23px-Flag_of_the_Mahdi_Army.svg.png" decoding="async" width="23" height="15" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1c/Flag_of_the_Mahdi_Army.svg/35px-Flag_of_the_Mahdi_Army.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1c/Flag_of_the_Mahdi_Army.svg/45px-Flag_of_the_Mahdi_Army.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="3465" data-file-height="2310" /></span></span></span> <a href="/wiki/Muqtada_al-Sadr" title="Muqtada al-Sadr">Muqtada al-Sadr</a> (Mahdi Army)</td></tr><tr><th colspan="2" style="background-color:#C3D6EF;color:inherit;text-align:center;vertical-align:middle;font-size:110%;">Strength</th></tr><tr><td style="width:50%;border-right:1px dotted #aaa;"> 200,000</td><td style="width:50%;padding-left:0.25em"> 35,000</td></tr><tr><th colspan="2" style="background-color:#C3D6EF;color:inherit;text-align:center;vertical-align:middle;font-size:110%;">Casualties and losses</th></tr><tr><td style="width:50%;border-right:1px dotted #aaa;"> <span class="flagicon"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/United_States" title="United States"><img alt="United States" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a4/Flag_of_the_United_States.svg/23px-Flag_of_the_United_States.svg.png" decoding="async" width="23" height="12" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a4/Flag_of_the_United_States.svg/35px-Flag_of_the_United_States.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a4/Flag_of_the_United_States.svg/46px-Flag_of_the_United_States.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="1235" data-file-height="650" /></a></span></span> 217 killed<br />1 captured<br />2,500 wounded<br /> <span class="flagicon"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/Iraq" title="Iraq"><img alt="Iraq" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5e/Flag_of_Iraq_%282004%E2%80%932008%29.svg/23px-Flag_of_Iraq_%282004%E2%80%932008%29.svg.png" decoding="async" width="23" height="15" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5e/Flag_of_Iraq_%282004%E2%80%932008%29.svg/35px-Flag_of_Iraq_%282004%E2%80%932008%29.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5e/Flag_of_Iraq_%282004%E2%80%932008%29.svg/45px-Flag_of_Iraq_%282004%E2%80%932008%29.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="900" data-file-height="600" /></a></span></span> 150 killed;<br />14,800 deserted<br /><b>Other coalition forces:</b><br />16 killed<br />107 wounded<sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-5" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></td><td style="width:50%;padding-left:0.25em"> 1342 killed<br />430 captured<br />(<span style="font-size:85%;">coalition claim</span>)</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="navbox-styles"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1129693374">.mw-parser-output .hlist dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul{margin:0;padding:0}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt,.mw-parser-output .hlist li{margin:0;display:inline}.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul ul{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .hlist .mw-empty-li{display:none}.mw-parser-output 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href="/wiki/Template:Campaignbox_Iraq_War" title="Template:Campaignbox Iraq War"><abbr title="View this template" style="color:inherit">v</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-talk"><a href="/wiki/Template_talk:Campaignbox_Iraq_War" title="Template talk:Campaignbox Iraq War"><abbr title="Discuss this template" style="color:inherit">t</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-edit"><a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:Campaignbox_Iraq_War" title="Special:EditPage/Template:Campaignbox Iraq War"><abbr title="Edit this template" style="color:inherit">e</abbr></a></li></ul></div><div id="Iraq_War_(Outline)" style="font-size:114%;margin:0 4em"><span style="line-height:1.6em"><a href="/wiki/Iraq_War" title="Iraq War">Iraq War</a> (<a href="/wiki/Outline_of_the_Iraq_War" title="Outline of the Iraq War">Outline</a>)</span></div></th></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"><b><u><a href="/wiki/Timeline_of_the_Iraq_War" title="Timeline of the Iraq War">Timeline</a></u></b> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/2003_in_Iraq" title="2003 in Iraq">2003</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/2004_in_Iraq" title="2004 in Iraq">2004</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/2005_in_Iraq" title="2005 in Iraq">2005</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/2006_in_Iraq" title="2006 in Iraq">2006</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/2007_in_Iraq" title="2007 in Iraq">2007</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/2008_in_Iraq" title="2008 in Iraq">2008</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/2009_in_Iraq" title="2009 in Iraq">2009</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/2010_in_Iraq" title="2010 in Iraq">2010</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/2011_in_Iraq" title="2011 in Iraq">2011</a></li></ul> <p><b><a href="/wiki/2003_invasion_of_Iraq" title="2003 invasion of Iraq">Invasion (2003)</a></b> </p> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Umm_Qasr" title="Battle of Umm Qasr">Umm Qasr</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Al_Faw_(2003)" title="Battle of Al Faw (2003)">Al Faw</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Basra_(2003)" title="Battle of Basra (2003)"><b>1st Basra</b></a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Nasiriyah" title="Battle of Nasiriyah"><b>Nasiriyah</b></a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/2003_attack_on_Karbala" title="2003 attack on Karbala">Raid on Karbala</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Haditha_Dam" title="Battle of Haditha Dam">Haditha Dam</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Najaf_(2003)" title="Battle of Najaf (2003)">1st Najaf</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Operation_Northern_Delay" title="Operation Northern Delay"><i>Northern Delay</i></a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Operation_Viking_Hammer" title="Operation Viking Hammer"><i>Viking Hammer</i></a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Samawah_(2003)" class="mw-redirect" title="Battle of Samawah (2003)">Samawah</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Karbala_(2003)" title="Battle of Karbala (2003)">1st Karbala</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Al_Kut_(2003)" title="Battle of Al Kut (2003)">Al Kut</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Hillah_(2003)" title="Battle of Hillah (2003)"><b>Hillah</b></a></li> <li><a href="/w/index.php?title=Battle_of_the_Green_Line_(2003)&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Battle of the Green Line (2003) (page does not exist)">Green Line</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_the_Karbala_Gap_(2003)" title="Battle of the Karbala Gap (2003)">Karbala Gap</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Debecka_Pass" title="Battle of Debecka Pass">Debecka Pass</a></li> <li><a href="/w/index.php?title=Battle_of_the_Kani_Domlan_Ridge&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Battle of the Kani Domlan Ridge (page does not exist)">Kani Domlan Ridge</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Baghdad_(2003)" title="Battle of Baghdad (2003)"><b>Baghdad</b></a></li></ul> <p><b><a href="/wiki/Iraqi_insurgency_(2003%E2%80%932006)" class="mw-redirect" title="Iraqi insurgency (2003–2006)">Post-invasion insurgency (2003–2006)</a></b> </p> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Anbar_campaign_(2003%E2%80%932011)" title="Anbar campaign (2003–2011)"><b>Al Anbar</b></a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Killing_of_Qusay_and_Uday_Hussein" title="Killing of Qusay and Uday Hussein">Killing of Qusay & Uday Hussein</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ramadan_Offensive_(2003)" title="Ramadan Offensive (2003)"><b>1st Ramadan</b></a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/2003_Latifiya_ambush" title="2003 Latifiya ambush">Latifiya</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Capture_of_Saddam_Hussein" title="Capture of Saddam Hussein"><i>Capture of Saddam Hussein</i></a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Iraq_spring_fighting_of_2004" class="mw-redirect" title="Iraq spring fighting of 2004"><b>Spring 2004</b></a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Defense_of_the_Karbala_City_Hall" title="Defense of the Karbala City Hall">City Hall</a></li> <li><a href="/w/index.php?title=Battle_of_Al_Kut_(2004)&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Battle of Al Kut (2004) (page does not exist)">Al Kut</a><span class="noprint" style="font-size:85%; font-style: normal;"> [<a href="https://uk.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%91%D0%B8%D1%82%D0%B2%D0%B0_%D0%B7%D0%B0_%D0%95%D0%BB%D1%8C-%D0%9A%D1%83%D1%82" class="extiw" title="uk:Битва за Ель-Кут">uk</a>]</span></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Operation_Iron_Saber" title="Operation Iron Saber"><b>Iron Saber</b></a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/First_Battle_of_Fallujah" title="First Battle of Fallujah"><b>1st Fallujah</b></a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Siege_of_Sadr_City" title="Siege of Sadr City"><b>Sadr City</b></a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Ramadi_(2004)" title="Battle of Ramadi (2004)">1st Ramadi</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/2004_Iraq_KBR_convoy_ambush" class="mw-redirect" title="2004 Iraq KBR convoy ambush">Good Friday</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Husaybah_(2004)" title="Battle of Husaybah (2004)">Husaybah</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Danny_Boy" title="Battle of Danny Boy">Danny Boy</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Najaf_(2004)" title="Battle of Najaf (2004)">2nd Najaf</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_the_CIMIC_House" title="Battle of the CIMIC House">CIMIC-House</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Samarra_(2004)" title="Battle of Samarra (2004)">Samarra</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Second_Battle_of_Fallujah" title="Second Battle of Fallujah"><b>2nd Fallujah</b></a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Mosul_(2004)" title="Battle of Mosul (2004)">Mosul</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Lake_Tharthar_raid" title="Lake Tharthar raid">Lake Tharthar</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Al-Qa%27im_(2005)" title="Battle of Al-Qa'im (2005)">Al Qa'im</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/2005_Hit_convoy_ambush" title="2005 Hit convoy ambush">Hit</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Haditha" title="Battle of Haditha">Haditha</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Operation_Steel_Curtain" title="Operation Steel Curtain"><i>Steel Curtain</i></a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Tal_Afar_(2005)" title="Battle of Tal Afar (2005)">Tal Afar</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Ramadi_(2006)" title="Battle of Ramadi (2006)">2nd Ramadi</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Operation_Together_Forward" title="Operation Together Forward"><i>Together Forward</i></a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Diwaniya" title="Battle of Diwaniya">Diwaniya</a></li></ul> <p><b><a href="/wiki/Iraqi_civil_war_(2006%E2%80%932008)" title="Iraqi civil war (2006–2008)">Civil war (2006–2008)</a></b> </p> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Ramadan_Offensive_(2006)" title="Ramadan Offensive (2006)"><b>2nd Ramadan</b></a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Operation_Sinbad" title="Operation Sinbad"><i>Sinbad</i></a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Amarah" title="Battle of Amarah">Amarah</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Turki" title="Battle of Turki">Turki</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Diyala_campaign" title="Diyala campaign"><b>Diyala</b></a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Haifa_Street" title="Battle of Haifa Street">Haifa Street</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Karbala_provincial_headquarters_raid" title="Karbala provincial headquarters raid">Karbala Raid</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Najaf_(2007)" title="Battle of Najaf (2007)">3rd Najaf</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Operation_Imposing_Law" title="Operation Imposing Law"><i>Imposing Law</i></a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Siege_of_UK_bases_in_Basra" class="mw-redirect" title="Siege of UK bases in Basra">U.K. bases</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Operation_Black_Eagle" title="Operation Black Eagle"><i>Black Eagle</i></a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Operation_Phantom_Thunder" title="Operation Phantom Thunder"><b>Baghdad belts</b></a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Baqubah" title="Battle of Baqubah">Baqubah</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Donkey_Island" title="Battle of Donkey Island">Donkey Island</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Operation_Shurta_Nasir" title="Operation Shurta Nasir">Shurta Nasir</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Operation_Phantom_Strike" title="Operation Phantom Strike"><i>Phantom Strike</i></a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Karbala_(2007)" title="Battle of Karbala (2007)">2nd Karbala</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Operation_Phantom_Phoenix" title="Operation Phantom Phoenix"><i>Phantom Phoenix</i></a></li></ul> <p><b><a href="/wiki/Iraqi_insurgency_(2003%E2%80%932011)" title="Iraqi insurgency (2003–2011)">Insurgency (2008–2011)</a></b> </p> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/2008_Iraqi_Day_of_Ashura_fighting" title="2008 Iraqi Day of Ashura fighting">2008 Day of Ashura</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/2008_Nineveh_campaign" title="2008 Nineveh campaign"><b>Nineveh</b></a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Iraq_spring_fighting_of_2008" class="mw-redirect" title="Iraq spring fighting of 2008"><b>Spring 2008</b></a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Basra_(2008)" title="Battle of Basra (2008)">2nd Basra</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/2008_al-Qaeda_offensive_in_Iraq" title="2008 al-Qaeda offensive in Iraq"><b>2008 al-Qaeda Offensive</b></a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Operation_Augurs_of_Prosperity" title="Operation Augurs of Prosperity">Augurs of Prosperity</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/2008_Abu_Kamal_raid" title="2008 Abu Kamal raid">Abu Kamal</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_the_Palm_Grove" title="Battle of the Palm Grove">Palm Grove</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/2011_raid_on_Camp_Ashraf" title="2011 raid on Camp Ashraf">Camp Ashraf</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Withdrawal_of_United_States_troops_from_Iraq_(2007%E2%80%932011)" title="Withdrawal of United States troops from Iraq (2007–2011)">US withdrawal violence</a></li></ul></div><table class="nowraplinks navbox-vertical hlist mw-collapsible mw-collapsed navbox-subgroup" style="border-spacing:0;margin:0;float:right;clear:right;width:25em;margin-bottom:0.5em;"><tbody><tr><th scope="col" class="navbox-title" colspan="2" style="background-color:#C3D6EF;color:inherit;"><div class="navbar plainlinks hlist navbar-mini"><ul><li class="nv-view"><a href="/wiki/Template:Campaignbox_Iraq_War_terrorism" title="Template:Campaignbox Iraq War terrorism"><abbr title="View this template" style="color:inherit">v</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-talk"><a href="/wiki/Template_talk:Campaignbox_Iraq_War_terrorism" title="Template talk:Campaignbox Iraq War terrorism"><abbr title="Discuss this template" style="color:inherit">t</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-edit"><a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:Campaignbox_Iraq_War_terrorism" title="Special:EditPage/Template:Campaignbox Iraq War terrorism"><abbr title="Edit this template" style="color:inherit">e</abbr></a></li></ul></div><div id="List_of_bombings_during_the_Iraq_War" style="font-size:114%;margin:0 4em"><span style="line-height:1.6em"><a href="/wiki/List_of_bombings_during_the_Iraq_War" title="List of bombings during the Iraq War"><span class="wrap">List of bombings during the Iraq War</span></a></span></div></th></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"><b>‡</b> <i>indicates attacks resulting in over 100 deaths</i><br /> § indicates the deadliest attack in the Iraq War<br /><i>This list only includes major attacks.</i> <dl><dt>2003</dt> <dd><a href="/wiki/2003_bombing_of_Jordanian_embassy_in_Baghdad" class="mw-redirect" title="2003 bombing of Jordanian embassy in Baghdad">1st Baghdad</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/Canal_Hotel_bombing" title="Canal Hotel bombing">2nd Baghdad</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/Imam_Ali_Shrine_bombing" class="mw-redirect" title="Imam Ali Shrine bombing">Najaf</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/27_October_2003_Baghdad_bombings" title="27 October 2003 Baghdad bombings">3rd Baghdad</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/2003_Nasiriyah_bombing" title="2003 Nasiriyah bombing">1st Nasiriyah</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/2003_Karbala_bombings" title="2003 Karbala bombings">1st Karbala</a></dd></dl> <dl><dt>2004</dt> <dd><a href="/wiki/2004_Erbil_bombings" title="2004 Erbil bombings"><b>‡</b> 1st Erbil</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/2004_Ashura_massacre" title="2004 Ashura massacre"><b>‡</b> Ashoura</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/21_April_2004_Basra_bombings" class="mw-redirect" title="21 April 2004 Basra bombings">1st Basra</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/2004_Mosul_bombings" title="2004 Mosul bombings">1st Mosul</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/14_September_2004_Baghdad_bombing" title="14 September 2004 Baghdad bombing">4th Baghdad</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/30_September_2004_Baghdad_bombing" title="30 September 2004 Baghdad bombing">5th Baghdad</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/2004_Karbala_and_Najaf_bombings" title="2004 Karbala and Najaf bombings">Karbala & Najaf</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/2004_Baqubah_bombing" title="2004 Baqubah bombing">1st Baqubah</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/2004_Kufa_mosque_bombing" title="2004 Kufa mosque bombing">Kufa</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/2004_Forward_Operating_Base_Marez_bombing" title="2004 Forward Operating Base Marez bombing">Marez</a></dd></dl> <dl><dt>2005</dt> <dd><a href="/wiki/Al-Suwaira_fuel_dump_explosion" title="Al-Suwaira fuel dump explosion">Suwaira bombing</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/2005_Al_Hillah_bombing" title="2005 Al Hillah bombing"><b>‡</b> 1st Al Hillah</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/2005_Erbil_bombing" title="2005 Erbil bombing">2nd Erbil</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/2005_Musayyib_bombing" title="2005 Musayyib bombing"><b>‡</b> Musayyib</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/17_August_2005_Baghdad_bombings" title="17 August 2005 Baghdad bombings">6th Baghdad</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/14_September_2005_Baghdad_bombings" title="14 September 2005 Baghdad bombings"><b>‡</b> 7th Baghdad</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/2005_Balad_bombings" title="2005 Balad bombings">1st Balad</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/2005_Khanaqin_bombings" title="2005 Khanaqin bombings">Khanaqin</a></dd></dl> <dl><dt>2006</dt> <dd><a href="/wiki/5_January_2006_Karbala%E2%80%93Ramadi_bombings" class="mw-redirect" title="5 January 2006 Karbala–Ramadi bombings"><b>‡</b> Karbala-Ramadi</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/2006_al-Askari_mosque_bombing" title="2006 al-Askari mosque bombing">1st Samarra</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/Buratha_mosque_bombing" title="Buratha mosque bombing">8th Baghdad</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/1_July_2006_Sadr_City_bombing" title="1 July 2006 Sadr City bombing">9th Baghdad</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/23_November_2006_Sadr_City_bombings" title="23 November 2006 Sadr City bombings"><b>‡</b> 10th Baghdad</a></dd></dl> <dl><dt>2007</dt> <dd><a href="/wiki/Mustansiriya_University_bombings" title="Mustansiriya University bombings">11th Baghdad</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/22_January_2007_Baghdad_bombings" title="22 January 2007 Baghdad bombings">12th Baghdad</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/February_2007_Al-Saydiya_market_bombing" title="February 2007 Al-Saydiya market bombing"><b>‡</b> 13th Baghdad</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/February_2007_Shorja_market_bombings" title="February 2007 Shorja market bombings">14th Baghdad</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/18_February_2007_Baghdad_bombings" title="18 February 2007 Baghdad bombings">15th Baghdad</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/2007_Al_Hillah_bombings" title="2007 Al Hillah bombings"><b>‡</b> 2nd Al Hillah</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/2007_Tal_Afar_bombings_and_massacre" title="2007 Tal Afar bombings and massacre"><b>‡</b> 1st Tal Afar</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/29_March_2007_Baghdad_bombings" title="29 March 2007 Baghdad bombings">16th Baghdad</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/2007_Iraqi_Parliament_bombing" title="2007 Iraqi Parliament bombing">17th Baghdad</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/2007_Karbala_mosque_bombings" title="2007 Karbala mosque bombings">2nd & 3rd Karbala</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/April_2007_Yazidi_massacre" title="April 2007 Yazidi massacre">2nd Mosul</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/18_April_2007_Baghdad_bombings" title="18 April 2007 Baghdad bombings"><b>‡</b> 18th Baghdad</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/2007_Makhmour_bombing" title="2007 Makhmour bombing">Makhmour</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/2007_Abu_Sayda_bombing" class="mw-redirect" title="2007 Abu Sayda bombing">Abu Sayda</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/2007_al-Askari_mosque_bombing" title="2007 al-Askari mosque bombing">2nd Samarra</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/2007_al-Khilani_mosque_bombing" title="2007 al-Khilani mosque bombing">19th Baghdad</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/2007_Amirli_bombing" title="2007 Amirli bombing"><b>‡</b> Amirli</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/2007_Kirkuk_bombings" title="2007 Kirkuk bombings">1st Kirkuk</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/26_July_2007_Baghdad_market_bombing" title="26 July 2007 Baghdad market bombing">20th Baghdad</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/1_August_2007_Baghdad_bombings" title="1 August 2007 Baghdad bombings">21st Baghdad</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/Qahtaniyah_bombings" title="Qahtaniyah bombings"><b>§</b> Qahtaniya</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/2007_Al_Amarah_bombings" title="2007 Al Amarah bombings">Amarah</a></dd></dl> <dl><dt>2008</dt> <dd><a href="/wiki/1_February_2008_Baghdad_bombings" title="1 February 2008 Baghdad bombings">22nd Baghdad</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/2008_Balad_bombing" title="2008 Balad bombing">2nd Balad</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/6_March_2008_Baghdad_bombing" title="6 March 2008 Baghdad bombing">23rd Baghdad</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/2008_Karbala_bombing" title="2008 Karbala bombing">4th Karbala</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/17_June_2008_Baghdad_bombing" title="17 June 2008 Baghdad bombing">24th Baghdad</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/2008_Karmah_bombing" title="2008 Karmah bombing">Karmah</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/2008_Baquba_bombings" title="2008 Baquba bombings">2nd Baqubah</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/2008_Dujail_bombing" title="2008 Dujail bombing">Dujail</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/2008_Balad_Ruz_bombing" title="2008 Balad Ruz bombing">Balad Ruz</a></dd></dl> <dl><dt>2009</dt> <dd><a href="/wiki/2009_Baghdad_police_recruitment_centre_bombing" title="2009 Baghdad police recruitment centre bombing">25th Baghdad</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/2009_Baghdad_bombings" title="2009 Baghdad bombings">26th Baghdad</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/April_2009_Baghdad%E2%80%93Miqdadiyah_suicide_attacks" title="April 2009 Baghdad–Miqdadiyah suicide attacks">Baghdad-Muqdadiyah</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/2009_Taza_bombing" title="2009 Taza bombing">Taza</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/June_2009_Muraidi_Market_bombing" title="June 2009 Muraidi Market bombing">27th Baghdad</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/2009_Kirkuk_bombing" title="2009 Kirkuk bombing">2nd Kirkuk</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/2009_Tal_Afar_bombing" title="2009 Tal Afar bombing">2nd Tal Afar</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/August_2009_Baghdad_bombings" title="August 2009 Baghdad bombings"><b>‡</b> 28th Baghdad</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/October_2009_Baghdad_bombings" title="October 2009 Baghdad bombings"><b>‡</b> 29th Baghdad</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/December_2009_Baghdad_bombings" title="December 2009 Baghdad bombings"><b>‡</b> 30th Baghdad</a></dd></dl> <dl><dt>2010</dt> <dd><a href="/wiki/25_January_2010_Baghdad_bombings" title="25 January 2010 Baghdad bombings">31st Baghdad</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/1_February_2010_Baghdad_bombing" title="1 February 2010 Baghdad bombing">32nd Baghdad</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/2010_Baqubah_bombings" title="2010 Baqubah bombings">3rd Baqubah</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/4_April_2010_Baghdad_bombings" class="mw-redirect" title="4 April 2010 Baghdad bombings">33rd Baghdad</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/6_April_2010_Baghdad_bombings" title="6 April 2010 Baghdad bombings">34th Baghdad</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/April_2010_Baghdad_bombings" title="April 2010 Baghdad bombings">35th Baghdad</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/10_May_2010_Iraq_attacks" title="10 May 2010 Iraq attacks"><b>‡</b> 1st Pan-Iraq</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/2010_Al-Kazimiyya_Mosque_bombings" title="2010 Al-Kazimiyya Mosque bombings">36th Baghdad</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/17_August_2010_Baghdad_bombings" title="17 August 2010 Baghdad bombings">37th Baghdad</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/25_August_2010_Iraq_bombings" title="25 August 2010 Iraq bombings">2nd Pan-Iraq</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/19_September_2010_Baghdad_bombings" title="19 September 2010 Baghdad bombings">38th Baghdad</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/2010_Baghdad_church_massacre" title="2010 Baghdad church massacre">39th Baghdad</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/November_2010_Baghdad_bombings" title="November 2010 Baghdad bombings"><b>‡</b> 40th Baghdad</a></dd></dl> <dl><dt>2011</dt> <dd><a href="/wiki/January_2011_Baghdad_shootings" class="mw-redirect" title="January 2011 Baghdad shootings">41st Baghdad</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/January_2011_Iraq_attacks" title="January 2011 Iraq attacks"><b>‡</b> 3rd Pan-Iraq</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/24_January_2011_Iraq_bombings" class="mw-redirect" title="24 January 2011 Iraq bombings">Karbala-Baghdad</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/27_January_2011_Baghdad_bombing" class="mw-redirect" title="27 January 2011 Baghdad bombing">42nd Baghdad</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/2011_Tikrit_assault" title="2011 Tikrit assault">Tikrit</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/2011_Al_Hillah_bombing" title="2011 Al Hillah bombing">3rd Al Hillah</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/2011_Samarra_bombing" title="2011 Samarra bombing">3rd Samarra</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/2011_Al_Diwaniyah_bombing" title="2011 Al Diwaniyah bombing">Al Diwaniyah</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/2011_Taji_bombings" title="2011 Taji bombings">Taji</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/15_August_2011_Iraq_attacks" title="15 August 2011 Iraq attacks">4th Pan-Iraq</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/28_August_2011_Baghdad_bombing" class="mw-redirect" title="28 August 2011 Baghdad bombing">43rd Baghdad</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/2011_Karbala_bombing" title="2011 Karbala bombing">4th Karbala</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/October_2011_Baghdad_bombings" title="October 2011 Baghdad bombings">44th Baghdad</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/2011_Basra_bombings" title="2011 Basra bombings">2nd Basra</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/22_December_2011_Baghdad_bombings" title="22 December 2011 Baghdad bombings">45th Baghdad</a></dd></dl></div></td></tr></tbody></table><div></div></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div></div> <p>The <b>2004 Iraq spring fighting</b> was a series of <a href="/wiki/Operational_warfare" class="mw-redirect" title="Operational warfare">operational</a> offensives and various major engagements during the <a href="/wiki/Iraq_War" title="Iraq War">Iraq War</a>. It was a turning point in the war; the Spring Fighting marked the entrance into the conflict of <a href="/wiki/Militia" title="Militia">militias</a> and religiously based (<a href="/wiki/Shi%27a" class="mw-redirect" title="Shi'a">Shi'a</a> and <a href="/wiki/Sunni" class="mw-redirect" title="Sunni">Sunni</a>) militant Iraqi groups, such as the Shi'a <a href="/wiki/Mahdi_Army" title="Mahdi Army">Mahdi Army</a>. </p> <meta property="mw:PageProp/toc" /> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Prelude">Prelude</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=2004_Iraq_spring_fighting&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Prelude"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The first months of 2004 was marked by a relative lull in violence. Guerrilla attacks lessened in intensity while insurgent forces reorganized, studying the multinational forces' tactics and planning a renewed offensive. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Causes">Causes</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=2004_Iraq_spring_fighting&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: Causes"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The first cause of the Spring Fighting was the rise of a conservative Shiite cleric <a href="/wiki/Muqtada_al-Sadr" title="Muqtada al-Sadr">Muqtada al-Sadr</a> and his militia, the Mahdi Army, in the south of the country. Muqtada al-Sadr also has great influence in the Sadr City section of Baghdad (Sadr City, which was Saddam City, was renamed after the invasion, in honor of Sadr's father, <a href="/wiki/Grand_Ayatollah" class="mw-redirect" title="Grand Ayatollah">Grand Ayatollah</a> <a href="/wiki/Mohammad_Sadeq_al-Sadr" class="mw-redirect" title="Mohammad Sadeq al-Sadr">Mohammad Sadeq al-Sadr</a>). With the fall of Saddam Hussein, Muqtada al-Sadr emerged as a Shia leader by rejecting the US-led occupation of Iraq. Al-Sadr created the Mahdi Army in June 2003.<sup id="cite_ref-6" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-6"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>6<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>The second cause, probably the flashpoint for the conflict, was the <a href="/wiki/2004_Fallujah_ambush" title="2004 Fallujah ambush">highly publicized killing and mutilation</a> of four <a href="/wiki/Blackwater_USA" class="mw-redirect" title="Blackwater USA">Blackwater</a> <a href="/wiki/Private_military_contractor" class="mw-redirect" title="Private military contractor">private military contractors</a> on March 31, 2004. Five days before American troops withdrew from Fallujah after intense fighting on March 26, 2004 (at which point Fallujah had already been declared insurgent-occupied) killed one Marine. The troops retreated to the city's outskirts. The four independent contractors were guarding food shipments for a U.S. base on the outskirts of <a href="/wiki/Fallujah" title="Fallujah">Fallujah</a>, Iraq, when they took a wrong turn and entered the city. They were killed in a grenade attack by suspected insurgents, and their corpses were mutilated by cheering crowds.<sup id="cite_ref-7" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-7"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>7<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-8" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-8"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>8<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Provocation_and_the_start_of_the_offensive">Provocation and the start of the offensive</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=2004_Iraq_spring_fighting&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: Provocation and the start of the offensive"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>On March 28, the <a href="/wiki/Coalition_Provisional_Authority" title="Coalition Provisional Authority">U.S. overseer</a> of Iraq, <a href="/wiki/Paul_Bremer" title="Paul Bremer">Paul Bremer</a>, ordered the 60-day closure of Al-Hawza, a newspaper published by Muqtada al-Sadr's group, on the charges of inciting violence against the occupation.<sup id="cite_ref-9" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-9"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>9<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The next day thousands of Iraqis rallied outside the offices of Al-Hawza in support of the newspaper. The decision was made to use 984th MP CO to shut down the newspaper based on information provided by the 148th MP Team (MPI/PIO).<sup id="cite_ref-:0_10-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-:0-10"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>10<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>On April 3, Bremer sent troops to al-Sadr's home and arrested Mustafa Yaqoubi, a top lieutenant,<sup id="cite_ref-:0_10-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-:0-10"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>10<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> sparking further protests. </p><p>On April 4, Spanish-led troops clashed with armed demonstrators in Najaf demanding Yaqubi's release, resulting in the death of two coalition soldiers, one American and one Salvadoran, and at least 20 Iraqis. According to one protester, armed supporters of Muqtada al-Sadr, intermingled with the crowd, fired the first shot.<sup id="cite_ref-11" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-11"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>11<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The main coalition base at Najaf was defended by Salvadoran troops, <a href="/wiki/Academi" class="mw-redirect" title="Academi">Blackwater</a> contractists and Spanish armoured vehicles, which repelled the attack of several <a href="/wiki/Technical_(vehicle)" title="Technical (vehicle)">technicals</a>. Four Spanish <a href="/wiki/Pegaso_BMR" title="Pegaso BMR">Pegaso BMR</a> armoured personnel carriers and two <a href="/wiki/VEC-M1" title="VEC-M1">VEC-M1</a> armoured reconnaissance vehicles, amidst heavy hostile fire, broke through the old Najaf's prison, used as a recruitment center by the <a href="/wiki/Iraqi_Civil_Defense_Corps" title="Iraqi Civil Defense Corps">Iraqi Civil Defense Corps</a>. A number of Salvadoran, Honduran and Iraqi soldiers were besieged inside the compound by members of the <a href="/wiki/Mahdi_army" class="mw-redirect" title="Mahdi army">Mahdi army</a>. One Salvadoran serviceman had been killed and five wounded in the first insurgent assault. The Spanish APC platoon rescued all the personnel in two trips, supported by US <a href="/wiki/Boeing_AH-64_Apache" title="Boeing AH-64 Apache">Apache helicopters</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-12" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-12"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>12<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The same day al-Sadr issued a statement calling on his supporters to stop staging demonstrations "because your enemy prefers terrorism."<sup id="cite_ref-13" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-13"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>13<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>"America has unsheathed its fangs and its despicable intentions, and the conscientious Iraqi people cannot remain silent at all. They must defend their rights in the ways they see fit," the statement said, according to <i>The Washington Post</i>. </p><p>A day after the statement given by Sadr, violent protests occurred throughout the Shiite south, soon spilling over into a violent uprising by Mahdi Army militiamen, which was fully underway by April 6, 2004. </p><p>Unrest in Basra was also inflamed by the publication of fake torture pictures by <a href="/wiki/Piers_Morgan" title="Piers Morgan">Piers Morgan</a> whilst editor of the British Newspaper <a href="/wiki/Daily_Mirror" title="Daily Mirror"><i>The Mirror</i></a> with one officer briefing as such: "Col Black told the press conference: "These photographs are a recruiting poster for al-Qa'eda and every other terrorist organisation. They have made the lives of our Armed Forces in Iraq that much more difficult and dangerous." </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="April_fighting">April fighting</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=2004_Iraq_spring_fighting&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: April fighting"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Baghdad_and_the_Shia_south">Baghdad and the Shia south</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=2004_Iraq_spring_fighting&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: Baghdad and the Shia south"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The Mahdi Army forces began an offensive in <a href="/wiki/Najaf" title="Najaf">Najaf</a>, <a href="/wiki/Kufa" title="Kufa">Kufa</a>, <a href="/wiki/Kut" title="Kut">Kut</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Sadr_City" title="Sadr City">Sadr City</a> on April 4, 2004. They began by taking control of public buildings and police stations. In Sadr City in Baghdad, Iraqi police were expelled from three stations. Members of the newly arrived <a href="/wiki/1st_Cavalry_Division_(United_States)" title="1st Cavalry Division (United States)">1st Cavalry Division</a> and the 759th Military Police Battalion were sent out to retake them. Militiamen ambushed the U.S. forces and eight U.S. troops were killed, and 51 more wounded in the bloody battle.<sup id="cite_ref-14" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-14"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>14<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> U.S. forces subsequently regained control of the police stations after running firefights with Mahdi rebels that killed 35 Mahdi Army militiamen. Mahdi Army members still maintained some influence over many of the slum areas of Sadr City, however. The fighting was not only in Sadr City, instead, it spread to other parts of Baghdad throughout the month. The highway linking Baghdad with the western province of <a href="/wiki/Al_Anbar_Governorate" title="Al Anbar Governorate">Anbar</a> was cut by the insurgents and resupplies for Marines in the province could only be delivered by helicopter. </p><p>The militants gained partial control of <a href="/wiki/Karbala" title="Karbala">Karbala</a> after fighting there. Other coalition forces came under attack: in <a href="/wiki/Nasiriyah" title="Nasiriyah">Nasiriyah</a> two Italian armored vehicles were destroyed, and British forces came under fire in <a href="/wiki/Amarah" title="Amarah">Amarah</a> and <a href="/wiki/Basra" title="Basra">Basra</a>. Muqtada al-Sadr militiamen took control of government, police and spiritual sites in Najaf, on April 6, 2004. The main coalition base there came under mortar fire.<sup id="cite_ref-15" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-15"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>15<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> <a href="/wiki/Kut" title="Kut">Kut</a> was seized on the next day after clashes with Ukrainian troops, mainly on the <a href="/wiki/Tigris_River" class="mw-redirect" title="Tigris River">Tigris River</a> bridge. On the same day, Karbala came under full Mahdi Army control.<sup id="cite_ref-16" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-16"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>16<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-17" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-17"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>17<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Spanish troops killed seven al-Sadr insurgents in several ambushes in south-central Iraq the following week, before being ordered to withdraw by the <a href="/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_Luis_Rodr%C3%ADguez_Zapatero" title="José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero">new-elected Spanish government</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-18" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-18"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>18<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>By April 9, 2004, exactly a year to the day after the statue of Saddam Hussein was symbolically torn down, the US-led forces lost control of all the parts of Iraq that had been gained in the year since that event.<sup id="cite_ref-19" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-19"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>19<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The same day, an American fuel convoy of the 13th Corps Support Command <a href="/wiki/2004_Iraq_KBR_convoy_ambush" class="mw-redirect" title="2004 Iraq KBR convoy ambush">came under attack</a> near the <a href="/wiki/Baghdad_International_Airport" title="Baghdad International Airport">Baghdad International Airport</a>. In what was described as a 5-mile long ambush, the 26-vehicle column was pummeled by gunfire, mortar rounds and <a href="/wiki/Rocket-propelled_grenade" title="Rocket-propelled grenade">RPGs</a>, disabling many of the civilian fuel tankers and Army vehicles. A total of 12 people from the convoy were killed: 2 American soldiers, 7 American private truck drivers and 3 Iraqi truck drivers. One American soldier, PFC <a href="/wiki/Keith_Matthew_Maupin" class="mw-redirect" title="Keith Matthew Maupin">Keith Matthew Maupin</a>, and an American truck driver, Thomas Hamill, were captured. Hamill managed to escape from his captors on May 2, 2004, while Maupin was executed and his remains recovered four years later. </p><p>After sporadic clashes, Coalition forces temporarily suppressed most militia activity in <a href="/wiki/Nasiriyah" title="Nasiriyah">Nasiriyah</a>, <a href="/wiki/Amarah" title="Amarah">Amarah</a>, and Basra. On April 16, Kut was retaken by US forces, and several dozen Mahdi Army members were killed in the battle. However, the area around Najaf and Kufa, as well as Karbala remained under the control of Sadr's forces. Sadr himself was believed to be in hiding in Najaf. Coalition troops put a cordon of 2,500 troops around Najaf, but reduced the number of forces to pursue negotiations with the Mahdi Army. At the beginning of May, coalition forces estimated that there were 200-500 militants still present in Karbala, 300–400 in <a href="/wiki/Diwaniyah" class="mw-redirect" title="Diwaniyah">Diwaniyah</a>, an unknown number still left in Amarah and Basra, and 1,000-2,000 still holed up in the Najaf-Kufa region. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Al_Anbar_operations">Al Anbar operations</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=2004_Iraq_spring_fighting&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: Al Anbar operations"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="First_Battle_of_Fallujah">First Battle of Fallujah</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=2004_Iraq_spring_fighting&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: First Battle of Fallujah"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1236090951">.mw-parser-output .hatnote{font-style:italic}.mw-parser-output div.hatnote{padding-left:1.6em;margin-bottom:0.5em}.mw-parser-output .hatnote i{font-style:normal}.mw-parser-output .hatnote+link+.hatnote{margin-top:-0.5em}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .hatnote{display:none!important}}</style><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/First_Battle_of_Fallujah" title="First Battle of Fallujah">First Battle of Fallujah</a></div> <p>Coincidentally, the offensive against Fallujah started on the same day that the Shia uprising began. In response to the killing of the four Americans on March 31 and intense political pressure, the U.S. Marines commenced <a href="/wiki/Operation_Vigilant_Resolve" class="mw-redirect" title="Operation Vigilant Resolve">Operation Vigilant Resolve</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-20" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-20"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>20<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> They surrounded the city with the intent of capturing the individuals responsible for the killings, as well as others in the region who might have been involved in the insurgency or terrorist activities. It was planned that the <a href="/wiki/Iraqi_National_Guard" class="mw-redirect" title="Iraqi National Guard">Iraqi National Guard</a> would fight alongside the U.S. Marines in the operation, but on the dawn of the invasion they discarded their uniforms and deserted. Heavy fighting lasted until April 9, 2004, when, again under enormous public pressure, the offensive was called off because of great civilian losses. At that point, the Marines had only managed to gain control of about 25 percent of the city. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Battle_of_Ramadi">Battle of Ramadi</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=2004_Iraq_spring_fighting&action=edit&section=8" title="Edit section: Battle of Ramadi"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Ramadi_(2004)" title="Battle of Ramadi (2004)">Battle of Ramadi (2004)</a></div> <p>During the fighting in Anbar there was also a major insurgent attack on the city of Ramadi on April 6, 2004, which began when a force of 300 insurgents attacked Marine patrols throughout the city in an attempt to relieve pressure on Fallujah. In heavy street fighting over four days 16 U.S. Marines and an estimated 250 insurgents lost their lives.<sup id="cite_ref-21" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-21"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>21<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Battle_of_Husaybah">Battle of Husaybah</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=2004_Iraq_spring_fighting&action=edit&section=9" title="Edit section: Battle of Husaybah"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Husaybah_(2004)" title="Battle of Husaybah (2004)">Battle of Husaybah (2004)</a></div> <p>Immediately following the <a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Ramadi_(2004)" title="Battle of Ramadi (2004)">Battle of Ramadi</a> there was another insurgent attack on the town of Husaybah on the <a href="/wiki/Syria" title="Syria">Syrian</a> border on April 17, 2004. Like in <a href="/wiki/Ramadi" title="Ramadi">Ramadi</a>, insurgents attacked the Marine <a href="/wiki/Garrison" title="Garrison">garrison</a> and were repulsed; 5 Marines and 150 insurgents were killed. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Fallujah_peace_attempts">Fallujah peace attempts</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=2004_Iraq_spring_fighting&action=edit&section=10" title="Edit section: Fallujah peace attempts"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The occupying force in Fallujah on April 9 allowed more than 70,000 women, children and elderly residents to leave the besieged city, reportedly also allowing males of military age to leave. </p><p>On April 10, the U.S. military declared a <a href="/wiki/Unilateral" class="mw-redirect" title="Unilateral">unilateral</a> <a href="/wiki/Truce" class="mw-redirect" title="Truce">truce</a> to allow for <a href="/wiki/Humanitarian" class="mw-redirect" title="Humanitarian">humanitarian</a> supplies to enter Fallujah, and pulled troops back to the outskirts of the city. Local <a href="/wiki/Sheikhs" class="mw-redirect" title="Sheikhs">sheikhs</a> and <a href="/wiki/Imams" class="mw-redirect" title="Imams">imams</a> refused to honor the cease-fire agreement, and repeatedly sent <a href="/wiki/Mujahideen" title="Mujahideen">mujahideen</a> fighters to attack the Marines. The city's main hospital was occupied by Coalition Forces to protect its patients, and a sniper was placed on top of the hospital's <a href="/wiki/Water_tower" title="Water tower">water tower</a>. There were also numerous reports of the use of Close Air Support by Coalition Forces in Fallujah during this time, in actions against insurgents. </p><p>The U.S. forces sought to negotiate a settlement, but promised to restart the offensive to retake the city if one was not reached. Military commanders said their goal in the siege was to capture those responsible for the numerous deaths of American and Iraqi security personnel. As the siege continued, insurgents continued to conduct hit-and-run attacks on U.S. Marine positions, despite the fact that U.S. Marines were under a unilateral <a href="/wiki/Ceasefire" title="Ceasefire">ceasefire</a>. It was also reported that the Marines wanted a <a href="/wiki/Cease-fire" class="mw-redirect" title="Cease-fire">cease-fire</a> because they were not being resupplied, due to the insurgent capture of the main highway from <a href="/wiki/Baghdad" title="Baghdad">Baghdad</a> to Anbar. </p><p>On May 1, 2004, U.S. forces withdrew completely from the city, and control of the city was turned over to the Fallujah Brigade (which was under control of a general who had served under <a href="/wiki/Saddam_Hussein" title="Saddam Hussein">Saddam Hussein</a>). The brigade soon allied itself with the insurgents and the city was effectively under insurgent control. Between 731 and 800 Iraqis were killed during the siege of the city, at least 184 of them insurgents, and at least 27 American Marines also died. Soon afterwards, many towns in Anbar province - such as <a href="/wiki/Karabilah" class="mw-redirect" title="Karabilah">Karabilah</a>, <a href="/w/index.php?title=Sada,_Iraq&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Sada, Iraq (page does not exist)">Sada</a>, Romania, Ubaydi, <a href="/wiki/Haqlaniyah" title="Haqlaniyah">Haqlaniyah</a>, <a href="/wiki/H%C4%ABt,_Iraq" class="mw-redirect" title="Hīt, Iraq">Hit</a>, <a href="/wiki/Baghdadi_(city)" class="mw-redirect" title="Baghdadi (city)">Baghdadi</a>, <a href="/wiki/Haditha" title="Haditha">Haditha</a>, as well as numerous smaller villages - came under insurgent control. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Hostage_tactics">Hostage tactics</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=2004_Iraq_spring_fighting&action=edit&section=11" title="Edit section: Hostage tactics"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Foreign_hostages_in_Iraq" title="Foreign hostages in Iraq">Foreign hostages in Iraq</a></div> <p>It is at this time during the war that <a href="/wiki/Kidnap" class="mw-redirect" title="Kidnap">kidnapping</a>, and in some cases <a href="/wiki/Decapitation" title="Decapitation">beheadings</a>, emerged as another insurgent tactic. Foreign civilians bore the brunt of the kidnappings, although some U.S. military personnel were also targeted. After kidnapping the victim, the insurgents typically made some sort of <a href="/wiki/Ransom" title="Ransom">demand</a> of the government of the hostage's nation and gave a time limit for the demand to be carried out, often 72 <a href="/wiki/Hour" title="Hour">hours</a>. Beheading was often threatened if the government fails to heed the wishes of the hostage takers. Several individuals, including an American civilian (<a href="/wiki/Nicholas_Berg" class="mw-redirect" title="Nicholas Berg">Nicholas Berg</a>) and a South Korean (<a href="/wiki/Kim_Sun-il" title="Kim Sun-il">Kim Sun-il</a>), among others, were beheaded during this period. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Operations_in_May">Operations in May</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=2004_Iraq_spring_fighting&action=edit&section=12" title="Edit section: Operations in May"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>On May 4, following a breakdown in negotiations, coalition forces began a counter-offensive to eliminate the Mahdi Army in southern Iraq. The first wave began with simultaneous raids in Karbala and <a href="/wiki/Diwaniyah" class="mw-redirect" title="Diwaniyah">Diwaniyah</a> on militia forces. It was followed by a second wave on May 5 in Karbala, and more attacks which seized the governor's office in Najaf on May 6. Four U.S. soldiers and an estimated 86 militiamen were killed in the fighting. Several high-ranking militia commanders were also killed in a separate raid by <a href="/wiki/US_Army" class="mw-redirect" title="US Army">US Army</a> <a href="/wiki/Special_Operations" class="mw-redirect" title="Special Operations">Special Operations</a> units. </p><p>On May 8, U.S. forces launched a follow-up offensive into Karbala, launching a two-pronged attack into the city. U.S. tanks also launched an incursion into Sadr City. At the same time, perhaps as a diversionary tactic, hundreds of Mahdi Army insurgents swept through Basra, firing on British patrols and seizing parts of the city. Two militants were killed and several British troops were wounded. </p><p>On May 24, after suffering heavy losses in weeks of fighting, Mahdi Army forces withdrew from the city of Karbala. This left the Najaf-Kufa region the only area still under firm Mahdi control, though it was also under sustained American assault. Several hundred Mahdi Army rebels in total were killed in clashes with American forces. Unfazed by the fighting, Muqtada al-Sadr regularly gave Friday sermons in Kufa throughout the uprising. </p><p>On May 30, American forces withdrew from the interior of the city of <a href="/wiki/Samarra" title="Samarra">Samarra</a>, and encircled it. Insurgents took full control of the city. On the same day, insurgents also took control of <a href="/wiki/Latifiya" title="Latifiya">Latifiya</a> and <a href="/wiki/Yusufiyah" title="Yusufiyah">Yusufiyah</a> south of Baghdad, effectively cutting Highway One between Baghdad and Karbala, and the Americans responded by rerouting traffic onto Highway Eight to maintain contact with the south of the country. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Close_of_operations">Close of operations</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=2004_Iraq_spring_fighting&action=edit&section=13" title="Edit section: Close of operations"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>On June 6, 2004, <a href="/wiki/Muqtada_al-Sadr" title="Muqtada al-Sadr">Muqtada al-Sadr</a> issued an announcement directing the Mahdi Army to cease operations in Najaf and Kufa, but the fighting in the south continued until June 24, 2004. Coincidentally, just as the <a href="/wiki/Shi%27a" class="mw-redirect" title="Shi'a">Shi'a</a> and <a href="/wiki/Sunni" class="mw-redirect" title="Sunni">Sunni</a> offensives started together on the same day, they ended on the same day. On the day that the fighting ceased in the south, a massive coordinated attack by insurgents was underway in the Sunni territories. In five cities - Ramadi, Baghdad, Mahmudiya, Baquba and Mosul - attacks were underway. In Baghdad a suicide bomber killed four Iraqi soldiers, but the attacks in Mosul were the bloodiest. Four suicide bombers killed fifty-six civilians, eight Iraqi policemen and two American soldiers. The most intense fighting was in Baquba, where, with precise and strategic attack, the insurgents attacked and took control of the main police station and city hall, and burned down the home of the police chief. American and Iraqi troops withdrew from the city, but after a few hours American bomber planes hit insurgent positions in the city at city hall, the police station and at the football stadium. After the air strikes, the American forces entered the city without resistance. Twenty-one members of the Iraqi security forces, two American soldiers and thirteen civilians were killed during the street fighting in Baquba. The only gain by the insurgents on this day was in <a href="/wiki/Ramadi" title="Ramadi">Ramadi</a>, where insurgent forces managed to take control and laid siege to Marine <a href="/wiki/Bunker" title="Bunker">bunker</a> positions. The city was under insurgent control by the end of the day. Some additional fighting was also reported around Fallujah, where nine civilians were said to have been killed. During the <a href="/wiki/Iraqi_insurgency_(Iraq_War)" class="mw-redirect" title="Iraqi insurgency (Iraq War)">insurgent</a> offensive on June 24, 2004, one hundred twenty-nine Iraqis and four American soldiers were killed. The number of insurgent casualties is unknown.<sup id="cite_ref-22" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-22"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>22<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Aftermath">Aftermath</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=2004_Iraq_spring_fighting&action=edit&section=14" title="Edit section: Aftermath"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The United States estimated that around 1,342 <a href="/wiki/Sunni" class="mw-redirect" title="Sunni">Sunni</a> and <a href="/wiki/Shi%27a" class="mw-redirect" title="Shi'a">Shi'a</a> fighters were killed, and approximately 430 insurgents were captured. <a href="/wiki/1st_Armored_Division_(United_States)" title="1st Armored Division (United States)">1st Armoured Division</a> claimed to have killed an additional 7,000 insurgents, and captured 20 insurgents during <a href="/wiki/Operation_Iron_Saber" title="Operation Iron Saber">Operation Iron Saber</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-23" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-23"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>23<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-24" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-24"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>24<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The USA, Iraq, and other allied forces suffered 383 killed. Approximately 2,500 American soldiers were wounded during this period. The results were indecisive. Most of <a href="/wiki/Al-Anbar" class="mw-redirect" title="Al-Anbar">Al-Anbar</a> province (including <a href="/wiki/Ramadi" title="Ramadi">Ramadi</a> and Fallujah) as well as some <a href="/wiki/Sunni" class="mw-redirect" title="Sunni">Sunni</a> territory north and south of Baghdad, including <a href="/wiki/Samarra" title="Samarra">Samarra</a>, were effectively left under insurgent control. The United States forces managed to maintain control of Baghdad and other major cities in the Shi'a south as well as some in the north. Another uprising of the Mahdi Army occurred a month and a half later, and a bloodier <a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Najaf_(2004)" title="Battle of Najaf (2004)">battle for the city of Najaf</a> unfolded. Also in November the <a href="/wiki/Operation_Phantom_Fury" class="mw-redirect" title="Operation Phantom Fury">Second Battle of Fallujah</a> occurred, when US forces carried out <a href="/wiki/Operation_Phantom_Fury" class="mw-redirect" title="Operation Phantom Fury">Operation Phantom Fury</a>, which left ninety-five percent of the city in ruins. Four days after the end of the Spring Fighting on June 28, 2004, the Coalition Provisional Authority transferred control to a new <a href="/wiki/Iraqi_government" class="mw-redirect" title="Iraqi government">Iraqi government</a>. With this, the occupation was officially over, but coalition forces remained in large numbers in the country. On the day that the transfer of authority occurred, three American Marines were killed in Baghdad and one British soldier was killed in Basra. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="See_also">See also</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=2004_Iraq_spring_fighting&action=edit&section=15" title="Edit section: See also"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><i><a href="/wiki/The_Long_Road_Home_(miniseries)" title="The Long Road Home (miniseries)">The Long Road Home (miniseries)</a></i> depicting the Sadr City attack, based on a 2007 book</li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="References">References</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=2004_Iraq_spring_fighting&action=edit&section=16" title="Edit section: References"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239543626">.mw-parser-output .reflist{margin-bottom:0.5em;list-style-type:decimal}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .reflist{font-size:90%}}.mw-parser-output .reflist .references{font-size:100%;margin-bottom:0;list-style-type:inherit}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-2{column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-3{column-width:25em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns{margin-top:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns ol{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns li{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-alpha{list-style-type:upper-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-roman{list-style-type:upper-roman}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-alpha{list-style-type:lower-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-greek{list-style-type:lower-greek}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-roman{list-style-type:lower-roman}</style><div class="reflist reflist-columns references-column-width reflist-columns-2"> <ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-1">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1238218222">.mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free.id-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited.id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration.id-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription.id-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background-size:contain;padding:0 1em 0 0}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#085;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}</style><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20061212195332/http://icasualties.org/oif/prdDetails.aspx?hndRef=4-2004">"Period Details"</a>. 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Retrieved <span class="nowrap">2006-12-15</span></span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Baqouba+Sealed+Off+as+U.S.+Forces+Lose+Control+of+City+-+The+NewStandard&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fnewstandardnews.net%2Fcontent%2F%3Faction%3Dshow_item%26itemid%3D605&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3A2004+Iraq+spring+fighting" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-23"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-23">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/oif-iron-saber.htm">"Operation Iron Saber"</a>. <i>www.globalsecurity.org</i>. 7 May 2011<span class="reference-accessdate">. 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Retrieved <span class="nowrap">7 November</span> 2024</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=www.nytimes.com&rft.atitle=U.S.+Begins+First+Major+Assault+on+Iraqi+Militia+Led+by+Cleric&rft.date=2004-05-05&rft.au=Edward+Wong&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2004%2F05%2F05%2Finternational%2Fmiddleeast%2Fus-begins-first-major-assault-on-iraqi-militia-led.html&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3A2004+Iraq+spring+fighting" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> </ol></div>    </div><noscript><img src="https://login.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:CentralAutoLogin/start?type=1x1&useformat=desktop" alt="" width="1" height="1" style="border: none; position: absolute;"></noscript> <div class="printfooter" data-nosnippet="">Retrieved from "<a dir="ltr" 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