| Operation Phantom Fury | |||||||
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| Part of the Iraq War | |||||||
![]() US Marines fight in the city of Fallujah during Operation Phantom Fury/Operation Al Fajr (New Dawn) |
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| Belligerents | |||||||
| Commanders | |||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 10,000 - 15,000 US troops 2,000 Iraqi troops[1] 850 British troops[2] |
~3,000 Insurgents[3] | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| U.S.: 95 killed, 560 wounded[4][5] Iraqi: 11 killed, 43 wounded UK: 3 killed, 8 wounded[6][7] |
1,350+ killed (U.S. est.) 1,500 captured[8][9][10] |
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| ~800 civilians killed[11] | |||||||
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The Second Battle of Fallujah — code-names Operation Al-Fajr (Arabic, "the dawn") and Operation Phantom Fury — was a joint U.S.-Iraqi -British offensive in November and December 2004. It was led by the U.S. Marine Corps against the Iraqi insurgency stronghold in the city of Fallujah and was authorized by the U.S.-appointed Iraqi Interim Government. The U.S. military called it "some of the heaviest urban combat U.S. Marines have been involved in since the Battle of Huế City in Vietnam in 1968."[12]
This operation was the second major operation in Fallujah. Earlier, in April 2004, Coalition Forces fought the First Battle of Fallujah in order to capture or kill insurgent elements considered responsible for the deaths of a Blackwater Security team. When Coalition Forces (a majority being U.S. Marines) fought into the center of the city, the Iraqi government requested that control of the city be turned over to an Iraqi-run local security force, which then began stockpiling weapons and building complex defenses across the city in mid-2004.
Contents |
In the months after the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003, Fallujah was one of the most peaceful areas of the country. There was very little looting, and the new mayor of the city, Taha Bidaywi Hamed, selected by local tribal leaders, was staunchly pro-American. However, events were soon to heat up to the boiling point. The pre-operation timeline is as follows:
On April 28, 2003, a crowd of 200 people defied a local curfew and gathered outside a local school to protest the presence of foreign forces in the city. The protest escalated as gunmen reportedly fired upon U.S. troops from the protesting crowd and U.S. Army soldiers from the 3rd Battalion of the 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment of the 82nd Airborne Division returned fire, killing 17 people and wounding more than 70 of the protesters. There were no Army or Coalition casualties in the incident. U.S. forces said that the shooting took place over 30–60 seconds.[citation needed]
In February, 2004, control of Fallujah, and the surrounding area in the Al-Anbar province, was turned over to the 1st Marine Division; the Army's 82nd Airborne Division was relieved of their command.
On March 31, 2004, Four American private military contractors were ambushed and killed in the city. Images of their mutilated bodies were broadcast around the world.
Within days, U.S. Marine Corps forces launched Operation Vigilant Resolve (April 4, 2004) to take back control of the city from insurgent forces. On April 28, 2004, Operation Vigilant Resolve ended with an agreement that the local population would keep the insurgents out of the city. The Fallujah Brigade, composed of local Iraqis under the command of Muhammed Latif, a former Baathist general, was allowed to pass through coalition lines and take over the city.
Insurgent strength and control began to grow to such an extent that by September 24, 2004, a senior U.S. official told ABC News that catching Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi, said to be in Fallujah, was now "the highest priority," and estimated his troops at 5,000 men, mostly non-Iraqis.[13]
Before beginning their attack, U.S. and Iraqi forces had established checkpoints around the city to prevent anyone from entering the city and to intercept insurgents attempting to flee.
In addition, overhead imagery was used to prepare maps of the city for use by the attackers. American units were augmented by Iraqi interpreters to assist them in the planned fight. After weeks of withstanding air strikes and artillery bombardment, the militants holed up in the city appeared to be vulnerable to direct attack.
In April Fallujah was defended by about 500 "hardcore" and 2,000+ "part time" insurgents. By November it was estimated that the numbers had doubled. Another estimate put the number of insurgents at 3,000; however a number of insurgent leaders escaped before the attack[14]. There were significant numbers of "part time" insurgents out of that 3,000 that stayed behind to fight the Marine and Army Forces. U.S. military officials estimated that 70-90% of the 300,000 civilians in the city had fled before the attack.[14] Intelligence briefings given prior to battle reported that Coalition forces would encounter Chechen, Filipino, Saudi, Iranian, Italian, and Syrian combatants, as well as native Iraqis.[15]
Ground operations began on the night of November 7, 2004. Attacking from the west and south, The Iraqi 36th Commando Battalion with their U.S. Army Special Forces advisers and the U.S. Marine Corps 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, reinforced by Bravo Company from the Marine Corp Reserve's 1st Battalion, 23rd Regiment, and supported by Combat Service Support Company 113, from Combat Service Support Battalion 1, captured Fallujah General Hospital and villages opposite the Euphrates River along Fallujah's western edge[16].
The same unit, operating under the command of the U.S. Army III Corps, then moved on the western approaches to the city, securing the Jurf Kas Sukr Bridge[16]. These initial attacks, however, were little more than a diversion, intended to distract and confuse the rebels defending the city.
Subsequent to Navy Seabees from NMCB-23 shutting off electrical power at the substation located just northeast of the city, two Marine Regimental Combat Teams, Regimental Combat Team 1 (RCT-1) and Regimental Combat Team 7 (RCT-7) launched their attack along the northern edge of the city. There were also two U.S. Army heavy battalion-sized units, the 2nd Squadron, 7 Cavalry Regiment, and 2nd Battalion, 2nd Infantry Regiment(Mechanized). These two battalions were to be followed by four infantry battalions that would clear the buildings. The Army's mechanized Second Brigade, First Cavalry Division, augmented by the Marine's Second Reconnaissance Battalion and, for a few days, the 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry Regiment [Stryker], was tasked to surround the city[17]. The British Black Watch Battalion patrolled the main highways to the east.
The six battalions of Army-Marine-Iraqi forces, moving under the cover of darkness, began the assault in the early hours of November 8, 2004 with an intense bombing followed by an attack on the main train station that was used as a staging point for follow-on forces. By that afternoon, under the protection of intense air cover, Marines had entered the Hay Naib al-Dubat and al-Naziza districts.The Marines were followed in by the Navy Seabees of NMCB-4 who bulldozed the streets clear of debris from the bombardment that morning. Shortly after nightfall on November 9, 2004, Marines were reportedly along Highway 10 in the center of the city. While most of the fighting subsided by November 13, 2004, Marines continued to face determined resistance from the enemy in and around the city.
By November 16, 2004, after nine days of fighting, the Marine command described the action as mopping up pockets of resistance. Sporadic fighting continued until December 23, 2004.
Despite its success, the battle was not without controversy. On November 16, 2004, NBC News aired footage that showed a U.S. Marine, with 3rd Battalion 1st Marines, shooting dead a wounded Iraqi fighter. In this video, the Marine was heard claiming that the Iraqi was "playing possum". U.S. Navy investigators NCIS later determined that the Marine was acting in self-defense.[18] The AP reported that military-age males attempting to flee the city were turned back by the U.S. military.[19]
By late January 2005, news reports indicated U.S. combat units were leaving the area, and were assisting the local population in returning to the now heavily-damaged city.
The US Army's 2nd Battalion, 2nd Infantry Regiment was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation for actions during the battle[20] Additionally, Operation Phantom Fury yielded a nominee for the Medal of Honor, Sergeant Rafael Peralta who was a Marine with 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines. Sgt. Peralta was later awarded the Navy Cross, the second highest award a Marine can receive.[21]
Fallujah suffered extensive damage to residences, mosques, city services, and businesses. The city, once referred to as the "City of Mosques", had over 200 pre-battle mosques of which 60 or so were destroyed in the fighting. Many of these mosques had been used as arms caches and weapon strongpoints by Islamist forces. Perhaps half the homes suffered at least some damage. Of the roughly 50,000 buildings in Fallujah, between 7,000 and 10,000 were estimated to have been destroyed in the offensive and from half to two-thirds of the remaining buildings had notable damage.[22][23]
While pre-offensive inhabitant figures are unreliable, the nominal population was assumed to have been 200,000–350,000. One report claims that both offensives, Operation Vigilant Resolve and Operation Phantom Fury, created 200,000 internally displaced persons who are still living elsewhere in Iraq.[24] Reports claim that up to 6000 civilians died throughout the operation.[25] While damage to mosques was heavy, Coalition forces reported that 66 out of the city's 133 mosques had been found to be holding significant amounts of insurgent weapons[26].
In mid-December, residents were allowed to return after undergoing biometric identification, provided they wear their ID cards all the time. Reconstruction progressed slowly and mainly consisted of clearing rubble from heavily-damaged areas and reestablishing basic utilities. Only 10% of the pre-offensive inhabitants had returned as of mid-January, and only 30% as of the end of March 2005.[27]
The recapture of the city itself proved to be largely a success for U.S. forces, with a large number of local insurgent fighters being killed, and the momentum the Sunni rebellion had gained from controlling the city being dashed in the face of overwhelming U.S. firepower. Furthermore, al-Qaeda's foothold in Iraq had been seriously degraded, even though its leader Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi managed to escape. Insurgent elements almost immediately began to attempt to re-group their power base in the city, with limited success.
Nevertheless the battle proved to be less than the decisive engagement that the U.S. military had hoped for. Some of the nonlocal insurgents were believed to have fled before the military assault along with Zarqawi, leaving mostly local militants behind. Subsequent U.S. military operations against insurgent positions were ineffective at drawing out insurgents into another open battle, and by September 2006 the situation had deteriorated to the point that the Al-Anbar province that contained Fallujah was reported to be in total insurgent control by the U.S. Marine Corps, with the exception of only pacified Fallujah, but now with an insurgent-plagued Ramadi[28][29]
After the U.S. military operation of November 2004, the number of insurgent attacks gradually increased in and around the city, and although news reports were often few and far between, several reports of IED attacks on Iraqi troops were reported in the press. Most notable of these attacks was a suicide car bomb attack on June 23, 2005 on a convoy that killed 6 Marines. Thirteen other Marines were injured in the attack. However, fourteen months later insurgents were again able to operate in large numbers.
A third and ultimately successful push was mounted from September 2006 and lasting until mid-January 2007. Tactics developed in what has been called the "Third Battle of Fallujah," when applied on a larger scale in Ramadi and the surrounding area led to what became known as "the Great Sunni Awakening." After four years of bitter fighting, Fallujah was turned over to the Iraqi Forces and Iraqi Provincial Authority during the Fall of 2007.
On November 26, 2004, independent journalist Dahr Jamail was perhaps the first to report on the use of "unusual weapons" used in the November 2004 Battle of Fallujah.[1] U.S. media watchdog group Project Censored awarded Jamail's story as contributing to the #2 under-reported story of the year, "Media Coverage Fails on Iraq".[2] On November 9, 2005 the Italian state-run broadcaster RAI ran a documentary titled "Fallujah, The Hidden Massacre" depicting what it alleges was the United States' use of white phosphorus (WP) in the attack causing insurgents and civilians to be killed or injured by chemical burns. The effects of WP were claimed to be very characteristic. Bodies were shown which were partially turned into what appears to be ash, but sometimes the hands of the bodies had skin or skin layers peeled off and hanging like gloves instead. The documentary further claims that the United States used incendiary MK-77 bombs (similar to napalm). While the use of incendiary weapons against civilians is illegal by Protocol III of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (1980), this is not binding on the United States because it is not a signatory. The documentary stated:
The US State Department initially denied using white phosphorus as a munition, a claim later contradicted by the Department of Defense when bloggers discovered a US Army magazine had run a story detailing its use in Fallujah. According to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), quoted by the RAI documentary, WP is allowed as an illumination device, not as an offensive weapon if its chemical properties are put to use. The OPCW has also stated that it is the toxic properties of white phosphorus that are prohibited and the use of its heat may not be prohibited.[30][31] The US government maintains its denial of WP use against civilians, but has admitted its use as an offensive weapon against enemy combatants.[32] An article in Washington Post exactly a year before also pointed out the use of white phosphorus in the battle, but attracted little attention.
White phosphorus, when used for screening or as a marker, or used as an incendiary against combatant forces, is not banned by Protocol III of the 1980 Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons. But if used as a weapon in a civilian area, it would be prohibited. The protocol specifically excludes weapons whose incendiary effect is secondary, such as smoke grenades. This has been often read as excluding white phosphorus munitions from this protocol, as well. The United States is among the nations that are parties to the convention but have not signed Protocol III.[citation needed]
Graphic visual footage of the weapons allegedly being fired from helicopters into urban areas is displayed, as well as detailed footage of the remains of those apparently killed by these weapons, including children. Questions have been raised concerning this footage since white phosphorus can not be delivered by helicopters in the manner shown in the film. The helicopters in the film are more likely dispensing illumination flares or counter measures to divert heat seeking surface to air missiles. The filmmakers interview ex-US military soldier Jeff Englehart of Colorado, who discusses the American use of white phosphorus, nicknamed "Willie Pete" (codification of "WP" - White Phosphorus) by U.S. servicemembers, in built-up areas, and describes the Fallujah offensive as "just a massive killing of Arabs."
Regimental Combat Team 1 (RCT-1) built around the 1st Marine Regiment:
Regimental Combat Team 7 (RCT-7) built around the 7th Marine Regiment:
2nd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division (US Army)
1st Squadron, 124th Cavalry, 36th Infantry Division (US Army)
US Army Special Operations Command (embedded)
| Operation Phantom Fury | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Iraq War | |||||||
| File:USMC US Marines fight in the city of Fallujah during Operation Phantom Fury/Operation Al Fajr (New Dawn) | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
| United States File:Flag of Iraq Iraq United Kingdom | File:Flag of the Ba'ath Mujahideen Shura File:Flag of al-Qaeda in Al-Qaeda in Iraq | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Richard F. Natonski | File:Flag of the Ba'ath Abdullah al-Janabi File:Flag of al-Qaeda in Omar Hussein Hadid | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 10,000 - 15,000 US troops 2,000 Iraqi troops[2] 850 British troops[3] | ~3,000 Insurgents[2] | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| U.S.: 95 killed, 560 wounded[4][5] (51 killed Nov.8-16 in initial invasion)[6][7] | 1,350+ killed (U.S. est.) 1,500+ captured[10][11][12] | ||||||
| ~800 civilians killed[13] | |||||||
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The Second Battle of Fallujah — code-names Operation Al-Fajr (Arabic, "the dawn") and Operation Phantom Fury — was a joint U.S.-Iraqi -British offensive in November and December 2004. It was led by the U.S. Marine Corps against the Iraqi insurgency stronghold in the city of Fallujah and was authorized by the U.S.-appointed Iraqi Interim Government. The U.S. military called it "some of the heaviest urban combat U.S. Marines have been involved in since the Battle of Huế City in Vietnam in 1968."[14]
This operation was the second major operation in Fallujah. Earlier, in April 2004, Coalition Forces fought the First Battle of Fallujah in order to capture or kill insurgent elements considered responsible for the deaths of a Blackwater Security team. When Coalition Forces (a majority being U.S. Marines) fought into the center of the city, the Iraqi government requested that control of the city be turned over to an Iraqi-run local security force, which then began stockpiling weapons and building complex defenses across the city in mid-2004. To date, it is the bloodiest battle of the war in Iraq.
Contents |
In the months after the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003, Fallujah was one of the most peaceful areas of the country. There was very little looting, and the new mayor of the city, Taha Bidaywi Hamed, selected by local tribal leaders, was staunchly pro-American. However, events were soon to heat up to the boiling point. The pre-operation timeline is as follows:
On April 28, 2003, a crowd of 200 people defied a local curfew and gathered outside a local school to protest the presence of foreign forces in the city. The protest escalated as gunmen reportedly fired upon U.S. troops from the protesting crowd and U.S. Army soldiers from the 3rd Battalion of the 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment of the 82nd Airborne Division returned fire, killing 17 people and wounding more than 70 of the protesters. There were no Army or Coalition casualties in the incident. U.S. forces said that the shooting took place over 30–60 seconds, however other sources indicate that shooting continued for half an hour.
In February, 2004, control of Fallujah and the surrounding area in the Al-Anbar province was transferred from the U.S. 82nd Airborne Division to the 1st Marine Division. Shortly afterward, on March 31, 2004, four American Blackwater USA contractors were ambushed and killed in the city. Images of their mutilated bodies were broadcast around the world.[15]
Within days, U.S. Marine Corps forces launched Operation Vigilant Resolve (April 4, 2004) to take back control of the city from insurgent forces. On April 28, 2004, Operation Vigilant Resolve ended with an agreement that the local population would keep the insurgents out of the city. The Fallujah Brigade, composed of local Iraqis under the command of Muhammed Latif, a former Baathist general, was allowed to pass through coalition lines and take over the city.
Insurgent strength and control began to grow to such an extent that by September 24, 2004, a senior U.S. official told ABC News that catching Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi, said to be in Fallujah, was now "the highest priority," and estimated his troops at 5,000 men, mostly non-Iraqis.[16]
Before beginning their attack, U.S. and Iraqi forces had established checkpoints around the city to prevent anyone from entering the city, and to intercept insurgents attempting to flee.
In addition, overhead imagery was used to prepare maps of the city for use by the attackers. American units were augmented by Iraqi interpreters to assist them in the planned fight. After weeks of withstanding air strikes and artillery bombardment, the militants holed up in the city appeared to be vulnerable to direct attack.
Total U.S., Iraqi, and British forces totaled about 6,000. U.S. troops were grouped in two Regimental Combat Teams. Regimental Combat Team 1 was comprised of 3rd Battalion/1st Marines, 3rd Battalion/5th Marines and the U.S. Army's 2nd Battalion/7th Cavalry. Regimental Combat Team 7, made up of the 1st Battalion/8th Marines, 1st Battalion/3th Marines, and the U.S. Army's 2nd Battalion/2nd Infantry. About 2,000 Iraqi troops assisted with the assault. All were supported by aircraft and Marine and Army artillery battalions.
In April Fallujah was defended by about 500 "hardcore" and 2,000+ "part time" insurgents. By November it was estimated[who?] that the numbers had doubled. Another estimate put the number of insurgents at 3,000; however a number of insurgent leaders escaped before the attack[18]. There were significant numbers of "part time" insurgents out of that 3,000 that stayed behind to fight the Marine and Army Forces.
The Iraqi insurgents and foreign mujahadeen present in the city prepared fortified defenses in advance of the anticipated attack. They dug tunnels, trenches, prepared spider holes, and built and hid a wide variety of IEDs. In some locations they filled the interiors of darkened homes with large numbers of propane bottles, large drums of gasoline, and ordnance, all wired to a remote trigger that could be set off by an insurgent when troops entered the building. They blocked streets with Jersey barriers and even emplaced them within homes to create strong points behind which they could attack unsuspecting troops entering the building.[19] Insurgents were equipped with a variety of advanced small arms, and had stolen a variety of U.S. armament, including M14s, M16s, body armor, uniforms and helmets.[19]
They booby-trapped buildings and vehicles, including wiring doors and windows to grenades and other ordnance. Anticipating U.S. tactics to seize the roof of high buildings, they bricked up stairwells to the roofs of many buildings, creating paths into prepared fields of fire which they hoped the troops would enter.[19]
Intelligence briefings given prior to battle reported that Coalition forces would encounter Chechen, Filipino, Saudi, Iranian, Italian, and Syrian combatants, as well as native Iraqis.[20]
Meanwhile, most of Fallujah’s civilian population fled the city, which greatly reduced the potential for noncombatant casualties.[19] U.S. military officials estimated that 70-90% of the 300,000 civilians in the city fled before the attack.[18]
Ground operations began on the night of November 7, 2004. Attacking from the west and south, The Iraqi 36th Commando Battalion with their U.S. Army Special Forces advisers and the U.S. Marine Corps 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, reinforced by Bravo Company from the Marine Corps Reserve's 1st Battalion, 23rd Regiment, and supported by Combat Service Support Company 113, from Combat Service Support Battalion 1, captured Fallujah General Hospital and villages opposite the Euphrates River along Fallujah's western edge[21]. Troops from the 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines fired 81mm mortar in an operation in south Fallujah. The same unit, operating under the command of the U.S. Army III Corps, then moved to the western approaches to the city and secured the Jurf Kas Sukr Bridge[21]. These initial attacks, however, were a diversion intended to distract and confuse the insurgents holding the city.
After Navy Seabees from NMCB-23 at the substation located just northeast of the city shut off electrical power to the city, two Marine Regimental Combat Teams, the Regimental Combat Team 1 (RCT-1) and Regimental Combat Team 7 (RCT-7) launched an attack along the northern edge of the city. There were assisted by two U.S. Army heavy battalion-sized units, the 2nd Squadron, 7 Cavalry Regiment, and 2nd Battalion, 2nd Infantry Regiment (Mechanized). These two battalions were followed by four infantry battalions who were tasked with clearing the remaining buildings. The Army's mechanized Second Brigade, First Cavalry Division, augmented by the Marine's Second Reconnaissance Battalion and, for a few days, the 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry Regiment [Stryker], was tasked to surround the city[22]. The British Black Watch Battalion patrolled the main highways to the east.
The six battalions of Army, Marine and Iraqi forces, moving under the cover of darkness, began the assault in the early hours of November 8, 2004 prepared by an intense artillery barrage and air attack. This was followed by an attack on the main train station that was then used as a staging point for follow-on forces. By that afternoon, under the protection of intense air cover, Marines entered the Hay Naib al-Dubat and al-Naziza districts. The Marines were followed in by the Navy Seabees of NMCB-4 who bulldozed the streets clear of debris from the bombardment that morning. Shortly after nightfall on November 9, 2004, Marines were reportedly reached Phase Line Fern at Highway 10 in the center of the city.
While most of the fighting subsided by November 13, 2004, Marines continued to face determined isolated resistance from insurgents hidden throughout the city. By November 16, 2004, after nine days of fighting, the Marine command described the action as mopping up pockets of resistance. Sporadic fighting continued until December 23, 2004.
Despite its success, the battle was not without controversy. On November 16, 2004, NBC News aired footage that showed a U.S. Marine, with 3rd Battalion 1st Marines, killing a wounded Iraqi fighter. In this video, the Marine was heard claiming that the Iraqi was "playing possum". U.S. Navy investigators NCIS later determined that the Marine was acting in self-defense.[23] The AP reported that military-age males attempting to flee the city were turned back by the U.S. military.[24]
By late January 2005, news reports indicated U.S. combat units were leaving the area, and were assisting the local population in returning to the now heavily-damaged city.
The US Army's 2nd Battalion, 2nd Infantry Regiment was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation for actions during the battle[25] Additionally, Operation Phantom Fury yielded a nominee for the Medal of Honor, Sergeant Rafael Peralta who was a Marine with 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines. Sgt. Peralta was later awarded the Navy Cross, the second highest award a Marine can receive.[26]
Fallujah suffered extensive damage to residences, mosques, city services, and businesses. The city, once referred to as the "City of Mosques", had over 200 pre-battle mosques of which 60 or so were destroyed in the fighting. Many of these mosques had been used as arms caches and weapon strongpoints by Islamist forces. Perhaps half the homes suffered at least some damage. Of the roughly 50,000 buildings in Fallujah, between 7,000 and 10,000 were estimated to have been destroyed in the offensive and from half to two-thirds of the remaining buildings had notable damage.[27][28]
While pre-offensive inhabitant figures are unreliable, the nominal population was assumed to have been 200,000–350,000. One report claims that both offensives, Operation Vigilant Resolve and Operation Phantom Fury, created 200,000 internally displaced persons who are still living elsewhere in Iraq.[29] Reports claim that up to 6000 civilians died throughout the operation.[30][dubious ] While damage to mosques was heavy, Coalition forces reported that 66 out of the city's 133 mosques had been found to be holding significant amounts of insurgent weapons[31].
In mid-December, residents were allowed to return after undergoing biometric identification, provided they wear their ID cards all the time. Reconstruction progressed slowly and mainly consisted of clearing rubble from heavily-damaged areas and reestablishing basic utilities. Only 10% of the pre-offensive inhabitants had returned as of mid-January, and only 30% as of the end of March 2005.[32]
The recapture of the city itself proved to be largely a success for U.S. forces, with a large number of local insurgent fighters being killed, and the momentum the Sunni rebellion had gained from controlling the city being dashed in the face of overwhelming U.S. firepower. Furthermore, al-Qaeda's foothold in Iraq had been seriously degraded, even though its leader Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi managed to escape. Insurgent elements almost immediately began to attempt to re-group their power base in the city, with limited success.
Nevertheless the battle proved to be less than the decisive engagement that the U.S. military had hoped for. Some of the nonlocal insurgents were believed to have fled before the military assault along with Zarqawi, leaving mostly local militants behind. Subsequent U.S. military operations against insurgent positions were ineffective at drawing out insurgents into another open battle, and by September 2006 the situation had deteriorated to the point that the Al-Anbar province that contained Fallujah was reported to be in total insurgent control by the U.S. Marine Corps, with the exception of only pacified Fallujah, but now with an insurgent-plagued Ramadi[33][34]
After the U.S. military operation of November 2004, the number of insurgent attacks gradually increased in and around the city, and although news reports were often few and far between, several reports of IED attacks on Iraqi troops were reported in the press. Most notable of these attacks was a suicide car bomb attack on June 23, 2005 on a convoy that killed 6 Marines. Thirteen other Marines were injured in the attack. However, fourteen months later insurgents were again able to operate in large numbers.
A third and ultimately successful push was mounted from September 2006 and lasting until mid-January 2007. Tactics developed in what has been called the "Third Battle of Fallujah," when applied on a larger scale in Ramadi and the surrounding area led to what became known as "the Great Sunni Awakening." After four years of bitter fighting, Fallujah was turned over to the Iraqi Forces and Iraqi Provincial Authority during the Fall of 2007.
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[[File:|thumb|right|A US M-109A6 self-propelled howitzer fires at insurgent positions in Fallujah]]
On November 26, 2004, independent journalist Dahr Jamail was perhaps the first to report on the use of "unusual weapons" used in the November 2004 Battle of Fallujah.[1] U.S. media watchdog group Project Censored awarded Jamail's story as contributing to the #2 under-reported story of the year, "Media Coverage Fails on Iraq".[2] On November 9, 2005 the Italian state-run broadcaster RAI ran a documentary titled "Fallujah, The Hidden Massacre" depicting what it alleges was the United States' use of white phosphorus (WP) in the attack causing insurgents and civilians to be killed or injured by chemical burns. The effects of WP were claimed to be very characteristic. Bodies were shown which were partially turned into what appears to be ash, but sometimes the hands of the bodies had skin or skin layers peeled off and hanging like gloves instead. The documentary further claims that the United States used incendiary MK-77 bombs (similar to napalm). While the use of incendiary weapons against civilians is illegal by Protocol III of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (1980), this is not binding on the United States because it is not a signatory.[citation needed] The documentary stated:
The US State Department initially denied using white phosphorus as a munition, a claim later contradicted by the Department of Defense when bloggers discovered a US Army magazine had run a story detailing its use in Fallujah. According to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), quoted by the RAI documentary, WP is allowed as an illumination device, not as an offensive weapon if its chemical properties are put to use. The OPCW has also stated that it is the toxic properties of white phosphorus that are prohibited and the use of its heat may not be prohibited.[35][36] The US government maintains its denial of WP use against civilians, but has admitted its use as an offensive weapon against enemy combatants.[37] An article in Washington Post exactly a year before also pointed out the use of white phosphorus in the battle, but attracted little attention.
White phosphorus, when used for screening or as a marker, or used as an incendiary against combatant forces, is not banned by Protocol III of the 1980 Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons. But if used as a weapon in a civilian area, it would be prohibited. The protocol specifically excludes weapons whose incendiary effect is secondary, such as smoke grenades. This has been often read as excluding white phosphorus munitions from this protocol, as well. The United States is among the nations that are parties to the convention but have not signed Protocol III.[citation needed]
Graphic visual footage of the weapons allegedly being fired from helicopters into urban areas is displayed, as well as detailed footage of the remains of those apparently killed by these weapons, including women and children. Questions have been raised concerning this footage since white phosphorus can not be delivered by helicopters in the manner shown in the film. The helicopters in the film are more likely dispensing illumination flares or counter measures to divert heat seeking surface to air missiles. The filmmakers interview ex-US military soldier Jeff Englehart of Colorado, who discusses the American use of white phosphorus, nicknamed "Willie Pete" (codification of "WP" - White Phosphorus) by U.S. servicemembers, in built-up areas, and describes the Fallujah offensive as "just a massive killing of Arabs." However, Englehart did not take part in the battle, he had only escorted an officer outside of the city on one occasion.
Regimental Combat Team 1 (RCT-1) built around the 1st Marine Regiment:
Regimental Combat Team 7 (RCT-7) built around the 7th Marine Regiment:
2nd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division (US Army)
1st Squadron, 124th Cavalry, 36th Infantry Division (US Army)
US Army Special Operations Command (embedded)
Coordinates: 33°21′N 43°47′E / 33.35°N 43.783°E
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