Battle of Haifa Street
The Battle of Haifa Street | |||||||
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Part of the Iraq War | |||||||
A U.S. sniper of the 2nd Infantry Division takes up a position during the fighting | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
United States Iraq |
Other Iraqi insurgents | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
500 soldiers 400 soldiers | unknown | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
20 killed[1] 1 killed |
200 killed 35 captured |
The Battle of Haifa Street was fought during January 2007 for the control of
Background
Haifa Street runs through a majority-Sunni area, although there is an area of
In mid-October 2006, al-Qaeda announced the creation of
In January 2007, the commander of Multi National Corps-Iraq (MNC-I), General Odierno, ordered a full-scale offensive to dislodge al Qaida from what one US commander called "the most dangerous street in Iraq".[3]
Two-phase battle
Phase one (January 6 to 9)
On January 6, 2007, Iraqi soldiers on patrol along Haifa Street discovered a fake checkpoint manned by Sunni insurgents. A gun battle followed in which 3-5/6 Iraqi Army forces with embedded US MiTT (4-9 Cav) forces killed 30 insurgents. That night in retaliation, insurgents dumped the bodies of 27 executed Shi'ites. The next day, insurgent snipers killed 2 Iraqi security guards near a neighborhood mosque. On January 8, Iraqi forces attempted to remove insurgent forces from Haifa Street, but the attack was repulsed and 2 Iraqi soldiers were killed. US forces were then called in to help clear out the street. [4]
On the January 9, 2007, American and Iraqi forces began a joint operation. The US 1st Battalion of the
The battle was some of the fiercest fighting the Iraqi capital had seen in months (since
Phase two (January 24)
Two weeks later on January 24, the American and Iraqi forces made a new attempt to capture Haifa Street. The battle began when American forces of the 1-23 Infantry (3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division) entered the area from the south in the early morning on the 24th and linked up with Iraqi forces from 1st Battalion 1st Brigade 6th Iraqi Division, and US forces from 4/9 Cav of the 2nd BCT of the 1st Cavalry Division. Using infantry, Strykers and Bradleys, American forces moved from building to building, taking sniper and mortar fire. The fighting lasted 8 hours. Some 30 insurgents were killed and 35 captured. 1 American soldier, SSG Hector Leija was also killed.[5][6]
Aftermath
Approximately 500 Iraqi and 400 U.S. soldiers took part in the battle along a two-mile stretch of Haifa Street. The images of the fighting were shown across the world on various news media, including YouTube,[7] which coincided with President George W. Bush's speech about committing more than 21,000 extra U.S. troops to Iraq. President Bush argued that the additional soldiers will help to secure Baghdad, but on the ground there were signs that problems were yet to come.
Within 24 hours of the start of the fight in Haifa Street, Gen.
This was one of the few battles where the insurgents and the coalition troops have fought each other 'face-to-face'.[8]
Media coverage
Lara Logan report
In late January 2007, CBS News correspondent Lara Logan filed a report about fighting along Haifa Street in Baghdad.[9] When CBS News refused to run the report on the nightly news because the footage was "a bit strong".[10] Logan tried to win public support to reverse this decision. Logan said, "I would be very grateful if any of you have a chance to watch this story and pass the link on to as many people you know as possible. It should be seen. And people should know about this."[10][11] Logan went on to use some of the Haifa Street material during a 60 Minutes report about life in Baghdad under the surge.
References
- ^ "The Battle for Haifa Street". Archived from the original on 2007-01-28.
- ISBN 978-1250006967,p.183
- ^ Task Force Warhorse: Classical counterinsurgency on Haifa Street - Long War Journal
- ^ Haifa Street: One Year Later | Institute for the Study of War Archived March 24, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Haifa Street:One Year Later | Institute for the Study of War Archived March 24, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Thirty insurgents killed in fierce Baghdad battles Archived November 5, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Battle on Haifa Street, Baghdad, Iraq". Multi-National Force - Iraq. Youtube.
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(help) - ^ "U.S. forces join Iraqis in 10-hour Baghdad battle". CNN.
- ^ Logan, Lara (2007-01-18). "Battle for Haifa Street". CBS News. Archived from the original on 8 February 2007. Retrieved 2007-02-02.
- ^ a b O'Connor R, Olson D (2007-01-26). "Helping Lara Logan". Mediachannel.org. Archived from the original on 2010-05-21. Retrieved 2007-02-01.
- ^ David, Bauder (2007-02-01). "CBS Correspondent Makes Plea for Airtime". Casper Star Tribune. Archived from the original on 2012-08-02. Retrieved 2007-02-02.