During
Operation Iraqi Freedom
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish)
, partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...
, Operation Planet X was a
US Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
mechanized raid conducted on a village near
Ad-Dawr
Ad-Dawr ( ar, الدور) is a small agricultural town in Saladin Governorate, Iraq, near Tikrit. It includes a great number of people from 4 tribes, al-Shuwaykhat, al-Mawashet, al-Bu Haydar and al-Bu Mdallal. Al-Mawashet tribe is famous for suppor ...
in
Salah Al-Din
Saladin (An-Nasir Salah ad-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub, 1137–1193), was the first sultan of Egypt and Syria and founder of the Ayyubid dynasty.
Saladin, Salah el-Din, Salah ad-Din or variant spellings (Arabic: صلاح الدين) may also refer to:
Ar ...
province north of
Tikrit
Tikrit ( ar, تِكْرِيت ''Tikrīt'' , Syriac language, Syriac: ܬܲܓܪܝܼܬܼ ''Tagrīṯ'') is a city in Iraq, located northwest of Baghdad and southeast of Mosul on the Tigris River. It is the administrative center of the Saladin Gover ...
on the night of 15 May 2003 by elements of the
1st Brigade Combat Team, U.S. 4th Infantry Division and
Task Force Ironhorse
The 45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team ("Thunderbird") is a modular infantry brigade combat team of the United States Army headquartered in Norman, Oklahoma. It is a part of the Oklahoma Army National Guard.
The 45th Infantry Brigade was forme ...
in search of
Ba'ath
Ba'athism, also stylized as Baathism, (; ar, البعثية ' , from ' , meaning "renaissance" or "resurrection"Hans Wehr''Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic'' (4th ed.), page 80) is an Arab nationalist ideology which promotes the creation a ...
party members and militants.
The name of the operation may have been inspired by the cartoon
Duck Dodgers in the 24½th Century
''Duck Dodgers in the th Century'' (spoken as "twenty-fourth-and-a-half") is a 1953 Warner Bros. ''Merrie Melodies'' cartoon directed by Chuck Jones. The cartoon was released on July 25, 1953, and stars Daffy Duck as space hero Duck Dodgers, P ...
.
As a result of this effort a key member of the former regime, Gen.
Mahdi Al-Duri Al-Tikrit Adil Abdallah was captured along with 260 other prisoners.
US fighting forces involved roughly 500 soldiers, 18 M2A3
Bradley Fighting Vehicles
The Bradley Fighting Vehicle (BFV) is a tracked armoured fighting vehicle platform of the United States developed by FMC Corporation and manufactured by BAE Systems Land & Armaments, formerly United Defense. It is named after U.S. General Omar B ...
, 12
artillery
Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...
pieces, 30
HMMWVs, and 6 patrol boats.
Military Units Involved
;US forces reported to be involved were
*
1st Brigade Combat Team, U.S. 4th Infantry Division
*
Task Force Ironhorse
The 45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team ("Thunderbird") is a modular infantry brigade combat team of the United States Army headquartered in Norman, Oklahoma. It is a part of the Oklahoma Army National Guard.
The 45th Infantry Brigade was forme ...
*1st Squadron,
11th Armored Cavalry Regiment
The 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment ("Blackhorse Regiment") is a unit of the United States Army garrisoned at the Fort Irwin National Training Center in California. Although termed an armored cavalry regiment, it is being re-organized as a multi ...
;Iraqi Units involved
*4th Battalion,
1st Iraqi Army
First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1).
First or 1st may also refer to:
*World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement
Arts and media Music
* 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...
*2nd Battalion,
3rd Iraqi Army
Third or 3rd may refer to:
Numbers
* 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3
* , a fraction of one third
* 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute''
Places
* 3rd Street (disambiguation)
* Third Avenue (disambiguation)
* Hig ...
Casualties
No US, Coalition or Iraqi casualties or deaths were reported during the operation.
References
*Statistics source
GlobalSecurity.org: Operation Planet X
Military operations of the Iraq War involving the United States
Military operations of the Iraq War involving Iraq
Military operations of the Iraq War in 2003
Iraqi insurgency (2003–2011)
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