Fallujah during the Iraq War
The
2003 invasion of Iraq
Although the majority of the residents were
Instability, April 2003 – March 2004
On the evening of April 28, 2003, several hundred residents defied the US
Two days later, on April 30, the 82nd Airborne was replaced in the city by Fox Troop from 2nd squadron of the /
During the summer, the US Army decided to close down its last remaining base inside the city (the Ba'ath party headquarters; FOB Laurie). At this point the 3rd ACR had all of its forces stationed outside Fallujah in the former Baathist resort, Dreamland. After the May 11 disarmament of the
On 30 June a "huge explosion" occurred in a mosque in which the imam, Sheikh Laith Khalil, and eight other people were killed. Residents of the city stated the army fired a missile at the mosque, while U.S. Colonel Joseph Disalvo stated that the explosion took place in a building adjacent to the mosque.[10] Just a couple of days earlier things had been much quieter, although US troops had been confiscating motorbikes as a preventive measure against terrorist attacks.[11]
Two months after the 3rd Infantry took control of Fallujah from the 3rd Cavalry, it was redeployed home. The 3rd Cavalry again assumed control of Fallujah with only one squadron. Attached to that Squadron was the 115th MP Company from the Rhode Island Army National Guard. The 115th MPs made routine patrols and frequent house raids searching for insurgents and weapons caches. In September 2003, the 3rd Brigade of the 82nd Airborne was deployed to replace the 3rd Cavalry in Ramadi and Fallujah. The 3rd Cavalry was then left to control all of the al-Anbar province except for these two cities.
Approximately one year after the invasion, the city's
On 24 March 2004, within hours of taking over control from the 82nd Airborne, the US Marines were drawn into running gun battles with insurgents, the Marines found themselves using these firefights to test the strength of the insurgents in various neighbourhoods. On 27 March, a JSOC surveillance team in Fallujah was compromised and had to shoot its way out of trouble.[12]
Attack on contractors
On March 31, 2004 -
The four contractors, Scott Helvenston, Jerko Zovko, Wesley Batalona and Michael Teague, were dragged from their cars, beaten, and set ablaze. Their burned corpses were then dragged through the streets before being hung over a bridge crossing the Euphrates.[15]
Siege, April 2004
In response to the killing of the four US citizens, and intense political pressure, the
The occupying force on April 9 allowed more than 70,000 women, children and elderly residents to leave the besieged city. On April 10, the US military declared a unilateral truce to allow for
The ceasefire followed a wave of insurgency activity across southern Iraq, which included the capture of two US soldiers, seven employees of US military contractor
The US forces ostensibly sought to negotiate a settlement but promised to restart its 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 US and Iraqi security personnel. As the siege continued, insurgents conducted hit-and-run attacks on US Marine positions. The Marines had announced a unilateral ceasefire.[citation needed]
Truce, May 2004
At the beginning of May 2004, the US Marine Corps announced a ceasefire due to intense political pressure. Most of the fighting was limited to the southern industrial district, which had the lowest population density inside the city limits and the northwest corner of the city in the Jolan district. There were also Marine battalions in the northeast and southern portion of the city. While both sides began preparations to resume offensives, General Conway took a risk and handed control of the city to a former Iraqi general with roughly 1,000 men who then formed the Fallujah Brigade, while acknowledging that many of the people under control of the general were probably insurgents themselves (no verification was provided). The general, Major General
Inside the city, mosques proclaimed the victory of the insurgents over the United States. [
Owners of shops that sold US-style magazine and barbers who offered "Western-style" haircuts were beaten and publicly humiliated. Inter-faction fighting was also rampant.[citation needed] The Fallujah Brigade was soon marginalized and ceased to be more than another faction in what had effectively become a no-go area for coalition troops.
Counter-insurgency, May – November 2004
Throughout the summer and fall of 2004, the U.S. military conducted sporadic airstrikes on Fallujah. U.S. forces reported that all were confirmed targeted, intelligence-based strikes against houses used by the group of
In October and early November 2004, the U.S. military prepared for a major offensive against the rebel stronghold with stepped up daily aerial attacks using precision-guided munitions[25] against militant "safe houses," restaurants and meeting places in the city. U.S. Marines also engaged in firefights on a daily and nightly basis along the perimeter of the city. There were again conflicting reports of civilian casualties.[26]: 256–267
On November 7, 2004, the U.S.-appointed
In the first week of
U.S.–Iraqi offensive of November 7, 2004
Journalists embedded with U.S. military units, although limited in what they may report, have reported the following:
- On November 8, 2004, a force of around 2,000 U.S. and 600 Iraqi troops began a concentrated assault on Fallujah with air strikes, artillery, armor, and infantry. The New York Times reported that within an hour of the start of the ground attack, troops seized the Fallujah General Hospital. "Patients and hospital employees were rushed out of rooms by armed soldiers and ordered to sit or lie on the floor while troops tied their hands behind their backs".[30] Noam Chomsky in his book Failed States commented that according to the Geneva Conventions, medical establishments "may in no circumstance be attacked, but shall at all times be respected and protected by the Parties to the conflict."[31] Troops seized the rail yards North of the city, and pushed into the city simultaneously from the North and West taking control of the volatile Jolan and Askari districts. By nightfall on November 9, 2004, the U.S. troops had almost reached the heart of the city. U.S. military officials stated that 1,000 to 6,000 insurgents were believed to be in the city, they appear to be organized, and fought in small groups, of three to 25. Many insurgents were believed to have slipped away amid widespread reports that the U.S. offensive was coming. During the assault, Marines and Iraqi soldiers endured sniper fire and destroyed booby traps, much more than anticipated. Ten U.S. troops were killed in the fighting and 22 wounded in the first two days of fighting. Insurgent casualty numbers were estimated at 85 to 90 killed or wounded. Several more days of fighting were anticipated as U.S. and Iraqi troops conducted house-to-house searches for weapons, booby traps, and insurgents.
- On 9 November, CNN Correspondent Karl Penhaul reported the use of cluster bombs in the offensive: "The sky over Fallujah seems to explode as U.S. Marines launch their much-trumpeted ground assault. War planes drop cluster bombs on insurgent positions and artillery batteries fire smoke rounds to conceal a Marine advance."[32]
- November 10, 2004 reports by white phosphorus grenades and/or artillery shells, creating walls of fire in the city. Doctors working inside Fallujah report seeing melted corpses of suspected insurgents.[33] The use of WP ammunition was confirmed from various independent sources, including U.S. troops who had suffered WP burns due to friendly fire. On November 16, 2005, The Independent reported that Pentagon spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Barry Venable "disclosed that (white phosphorus) had been used to dislodge enemy fighters from entrenched positions in the city"..."We use them primarily as obscurants, for smokescreens or target marking in some cases. However, it is an incendiary weapon and may be used against enemy combatants."[34] But a day before, Robert Tuttle, the U.S. ambassador to London, denied that white phosphorus was deployed as a weapon: "US forces do not use napalm or white phosphorus as weapons."[35][36]
- On November 13, 2004 a
- On November 13, 2004, a U.S. Marine with 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines was videotaped killing a wounded combatant in a mosque. The incident, which came under investigation, created controversy throughout the world. The man was shot at close range after he and several other wounded insurgents had previously been left behind overnight in the mosque by the U.S. Marines. The Marine shooting the man had been mildly injured by insurgents in the same mosque the day before.[39][40]
In May 2005, it was announced that the Marine would not face a court-martial. In a statement, Maj. Gen. Richard F. Natonski, commanding general of the I Marine Expeditionary Force, said that a review of the evidence had shown that the shooting was "consistent with the established rules of engagement and the law of armed conflict."[41]
- On November 16, 2004, a Red Cross official told Inter Press Service that "at least 800 civilians" had been killed in Fallujah and indicated that "they had received several reports from refugees that the military had dropped cluster bombs in Fallujah, and used a phosphorus weapon that caused severe burns."[42]
- As of November 18, 2004, the U.S. military reported 1,200 insurgents killed and 1,000 captured. U.S. casualties were 51 killed and 425 wounded, and the Iraqi forces were 8 killed and 43 wounded.[43]
- On December 2, 2004, the U.S. death toll in Fallujah operation reached 71 killed.[44]
- Some of the tactics said to be used by the insurgents included playing dead and attacking, surrendering and attacking, and rigging dead or wounded with bombs. In the November 13th incident mentioned above, the U.S. Marine alleged the insurgent was playing dead.[45]
- Of the 100 mosques in the city, about 60 were used as fighting positions by the insurgents.[citation needed] The U.S. and Iraqi military swept through all mosques used as fighting positions, destroying them, leading to great resentment from local residents.
- In 2005, the U.S. military admitted that it used white phosphorus as an anti-personnel weapon in Fallujah.[46]
On 17 May 2011, AFP reported that 21 bodies, in black
Aftermath
Residents were allowed to return to the city in mid-December after undergoing
Health effects
Research by Chris Busby, Malak Hamdan and Entesar Ariabi published in 2010 lent credibility to anecdotal news reports of increases in birth defects and cancer after the fighting in 2004.[52] Results from a survey of 711 households in Fallujah on cancer, birth defects and infant mortality suggested that large increases in cancer and infant mortality had occurred. Responses to the questionnaire also suggested an anomalous mean birth sex ratio in children born a year after the fighting, indicating that environmental contamination occurred in 2004. Although the authors said the use of depleted uranium as a possible source of relevant exposure, they emphasized that there could be other possibilities and that their results did not identify the agent(s) responsible for the increased levels of illness.
ISIS occupation
In early January 2014, Iraq's Fallujah had "fallen completely" out of the Iraqi government's control. The center of the city was reportedly in control of fighters from the
See also
- Human rights in post-Saddam Hussein Iraq
- Mark 77 bomb, also controversial in its usage in Fallujah by US forces
- White phosphorus use in Iraq
- Iraqi insurgency
- Battle of Fallujah (2016)
- Ramadi under U.S. military occupation
U.S. operations in Fallujah
- United States Army led operations in Fallujah
- Operation Spartan ScorpionJune 15–16, 2003
- Operation Market Sweep January 13, 2004
- U.S. Marineled operations in Fallujah
- Operation Vigilant ResolveApril 04–April 09, 2004
- Operation Phantom FuryNovember 07–December 23, 2004
Films
- American Sniper, is a 2014 American biographical war drama film directed by Clint Eastwood and written by Jason Hall.[55]
- white phosphorus and Mk-77 by the U.S. Army against civilians in the city. (Google Video) Archived 2007-11-19 at the Wayback Machine
- No True Glory, a Frontline Account of the Battle for Fallujah based on the book by Bing West scheduled for release in 2008, starring Harrison Ford as General Mattis.[56] As of February 2010, the IMDb has no trace of this film project.
- Occupation: Dreamland Documentary film (2005)[57]
- Delta Farce Comedy (2007) about Army reservists deployed to Fallujah, but who are accidentally airdropped elsewhere.
- Falluja, April 2004, a documentary film by Toshikuni Doi[58]
- "Inside the Resistance", a documentary film by Tara Sutton[59]
- "Fallujah Forensics", a documentary film by Tara Sutton[60]
Further reading
- No True Glory: A Frontline Account of the Battle for Fallujah by Bing West (2005).
- ISBN 9780306814693)
- ISBN 0-275-99055-9)
- ISBN 1-59228-732-8)
- Fallujah, with Honor; First Battalion, Eighth Marine's Role in Operation Phantom Fury by Gary Livingston (2006)
- ISBN 978-1416574712)
References
- ^ a b Iraq: U.S. Should Investigate al-Falluja (Report). Human Rights Watch. June 17, 2003. Retrieved September 1, 2013.
The 18-page report... challenges the U.S. military's assertion that its troops came under direct fire from individuals in the crowd of protesters on April 28. Human Rights Watch found no conclusive evidence of bullet damage on the school where the soldiers were based. In contrast, buildings facing the school had extensive multi-caliber bullet impacts that were inconsistent with U.S. assertions that soldiers had responded with "precision fire."
- ^ "U.S. Soldiers again attacked by Iraq Demonstrators". Associated Press. 2003-04-30. Archived from the original on 2010-12-04. Retrieved 2010-06-16.
- ^ From Guernica to Fallujah - by Pepe Escobar, Asia Times (2 December 2004)
- ^ Firstbrook, Clinton. "Newfound Respect - A Combat Correspondent's Tale of the Battle for Fallujah" (PDF). US Marines Magazine. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 1, 2006. Retrieved 2006-05-15.
- ^ Blair, Edmund (29 April 2003). "Anger Mounts After U.S. Troops Kill 13 Iraqi Protesters". Reuters. Archived from the original on 16 June 2013. Retrieved 22 June 2013.
- ^ "Falluja: City with history of rebellion". BBC. 23 December 2004. Retrieved 22 June 2013.
- ^ a b Nightline (29 April 2003). "ABC News Transcripts". ABC News.
- ^ "FOB Laurie". Retrieved 27 October 2015.
- ^ Goulka, Jeremiah; Hansell, Lydia; Wilke, Elizabeth; Larson, Judith (2009). The Mujahedin-e Khalq in Iraq: A Policy Conundrum (PDF) (Report). RAND corporation. Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 February 2016.
- ^ "Bush firm despite Iraq attacks". BBC News. July 1, 2003. Retrieved 2006-05-15.
- ^ "US strikes at Iraqi resistance". BBC News. June 29, 2003. Retrieved 2006-05-15.
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- ^ "frontline: private warriors: contractors: the high-risk contracting business". PBS. Retrieved 2010-03-16.
- ^ Deignan, Tom (December 22, 2013). "Navy SEALS tragedy in Afghanistan chronicled in new film, "Lone Survivors"". IrishCentral. Retrieved November 28, 2016.
- ^ "Akvariefisk". Roberts fisk. Archived from the original on 29 December 2006. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
- ^ Squitieri, Tom (2004-11-28). "Fallujah's mosques hid arms, militants". USA Today. Retrieved 2010-06-16.
- ^ Manyon, Julian. "Worse than Vietnam;". The Spectator.
- ^ Bernard, Anne (April 22, 2004). "Death toll near 500 in Fallujah, Baghdad". Boston Com News. Retrieved 2006-05-15.
- ^ Barnard, Anne (2004-04-22). "Death toll near 500 in Fallujah, Baghdad – The Boston Globe". Boston.com. Retrieved 2010-03-16.
- ^ "Charlotte news, events, Panthers, Bobcats, jobs, cars, homes". Archived from the original on 2005-11-19. Retrieved 2005-11-14.
- ^ Gettleman, Jeffrey (2004-04-14). "THE STRUGGLE FOR IRAQ – COMBAT – THE STRUGGLE FOR IRAQ – COMBAT – Marines in Falluja Still Face and Return Relentless Fire – NYTimes.com". Select.nytimes.com. Archived from the original on 2012-07-17. Retrieved 2010-03-16.
- ^ Rory McCarthy (2004-04-24). "Uneasy truce in the city of ghosts | World news". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 2010-03-16.
- ^ "Iraqi militiamen clash with U.S. troops". Chinadaily.com.cn. Retrieved 2010-03-16.
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- ^ Hider, James (2004-11-12). "US soldiers set to move in on martyrs land". The Times. London. Retrieved 2010-03-30.
- ^ Jeffery, Simon (2005-11-18). "A week of the war". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 2010-03-16.
- ^ Early Target of Offensive Is a Hospital The New York Times, 8 November 2004.
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- ^ "CNN.com – Transcripts". Transcripts.cnn.com. 2004-11-09. Retrieved 2010-03-16.
- ^ "U.S. Forces Battle Into Heart of Fallujah". The Washington Post. 2004-11-10. Retrieved 2010-03-16.
- ^ "US forces used 'chemical weapon' in Iraq". The Independent. London. 2005-11-16. Archived from the original on 2008-01-01. Retrieved 2010-03-16.
- ^ "US Forces Used 'Chemical Weapon' in Iraq". Commondreams.org. 2005-11-16. Archived from the original on 2009-02-20. Retrieved 2010-03-16.
- ^ Reynolds, Paul (2005-11-16). "White phosphorus: weapon on the edge". BBC News. Retrieved 2010-03-16.
- ^ "Aid enters embattled Iraqi city". BBC News. 2004-11-13. Retrieved 2010-03-16.
- ^ Rory McCarthy in Baghdad (2004-11-15). "US denies need for Falluja aid convoy | World news". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 2010-03-16.
- ^ "Military investigates shooting of wounded insurgent – Nov 16, 2004". CNN.com. 2004-11-16. Retrieved 2010-03-16.
- ^ "Open Letter to Devil Dogs of the 3.1 (Blog entry by Kevin Sites – the reporter who filmed the November 13 killing in the Mosque.)". Kevinsites.net. Archived from the original on June 24, 2007. Retrieved 2010-03-16.
- ^ "No Charges In Fallujah Shooting". CBS News.
- ^ Jamail, Dahr (2004-11-16). "800 Civilians Feared Dead in Fallujah | Dahr Jamail – Independent Reporting from Iraq and the Middle East". Dahrjamailiraq.com. Archived from the original on 2008-09-25. Retrieved 2010-03-16.
- ^ "U.S. Department of Defense". www.defenselink.mil. Archived from the original on December 6, 2005.
- ^ "US death toll in Fallujah reaches 71. 02/12/2004. ABC News Online". Abc.net.au. 2004-12-02. Archived from the original on 2009-02-21. Retrieved 2010-03-16.
- ^ Sites, Kevin (2004-11-21). "Open Letter to Devil Dogs of the 3.1 by Kevin Sites". The Digital Journalist. Retrieved 2010-03-16.
- ^ "U.S.Used White Phosphorus in Iraq". BBC News. 2005-11-16. Retrieved 2009-01-22.
- ^ '21 bodies found in Iraq mass grave, AFP, 2011-05-17, archived from the original on 2013-01-24, retrieved 19 June 2011
- ^ "Increased Security In Fallujah Slows Efforts to Rebuild". washingtonpost.com. 2005-04-19. Retrieved 2010-03-16.
- ^ "Still locked down, Fallujah slow to rebuild – Nightly News – NBC News". NBC News. 2005-04-14. Retrieved 2010-03-16.
- ^ Mike Marqusee (2005-11-09). "Mike Marqusee: The destruction of Falluja was an act of barbarism that ranks alongside My Lai, Guernica and Halabja | World news". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 2010-03-16.
- ^ "Fallujah Four Months Later | News | English". Voanews.com. 2005-03-31. Archived from the original on 2005-04-18. Retrieved 2010-03-16.
- PMID 20717542.
- ^ Dan Murphy (January 9, 2013). "What's really going on in Iraq's Anbar Province?". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved January 11, 2013.
- ^ Anbar tribesmen voice opposition to Iraqi PM Maliki World Bulletin.com, January 14, 2014
- ^ "American Sniper". 16 January 2015 – via www.imdb.com.
- user-generated source]
- ^ "Occupation: Dreamland". 19 May 2006 – via www.imdb.com.
- ^ Falluja, April 2004
- ^ Inside the Resistance BBC
- ^ Fallujah Forensics
External links
- Fallujah - The Day After: Video of devastation of Fallujah from Diario (27 May 2005)
- This is our Guernica – by Jonathan Steele and Dahr Jamail, The Guardian (27 April 2005)
- Remembering the First Siege of Fallujah by Omar Khan, DahrJamailIraq.com (15 February 2005)
- Fallujah: The Real Fall special report on Fallujah since November 2004 - Channel 4 (11 January 2005)
- Falluja: City with history of rebellion - BBC News 23 December 2004
- Raw Video Footage of U.S. Offensive in Fallujah large archive of news network footage and unofficial footage collected by Geoffrey Huntley – fallujah.us
- Zarqawi's city of death – The Washington Times (29 November 2004)
- Fallujah's real boss: Omar the electrician - by Hannah Allam, Knight Ridder (22 November 2004)
- Telling the Fallujah Story to the World - Military.com (20 November 2004)
- Fallujah yields up weapons, videos – The Christian Science Monitor (19 November 2004)
- Letter from Fallujah to Kofi Annan signed by Al-Fallujah Shura Council, a council of insurgent organizations; and by others
- The 2004 Siege of Fallujah - An interactive guide - The Guardian
- Archive of the Iraq Dispatches (by Dahr Jamail, an unembedded and independent Archived 2005-04-14 at the Wayback Machine journalist) - DahrJamailIraq.com
- Fallujah, November-December 2004 United States Marine Corps 2014