Operation Bulldog Mammoth was a

brigade A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division. B ...

-sized cordon and search of an Abu Ghurayb apartment complex, northwest of

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon. I ...

on 4 December 2003 during the American-led

2003 invasion of Iraq The 2003 invasion of Iraq was a United States-led invasion of the Republic of Iraq and the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one month, including 26 ...

. The operation lasted about five-and-a-half hours and involved approximately 1,450 soldiers. This unusual

-sized cordon and search was led by the

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 ...

's 1st Armored Div., 3rd Brigade Combat Team and was supported by the

's 82nd Airborne Division, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, more than 300

Iraqi Civil Defense Corps The Iraqi Civil Defense Corps was an Iraqi armed formation created by the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) which existed in 2003–2004. The ICDC was controlled by Combined Joint Task Force 7. The idea originated from the 101st Airborne Divi ...

personnel and an Estonian army platoon. Additionally, the operation was also supported by two companies from the 709th Military Police Battalion, which provided an outer cordon, and four AH-64 Apache helicopters, which provided air support. The cordon and search went through 2,400 apartments, 53 additional buildings and seized: more than 220 AK-47 assault rifles, along with a number of machine guns, pistols and other rifles; five rocket propelled grenades and 15 Rocket propelled grenade, RPG sights; 10 grenades; 12 mortar sights; various electrical components associated with improvised explosive devise construction; Russian-made night vision devices; protective masks; 24 plates of body armor and a U.S.-made vest; Saddam Hussein paraphernalia; and 16 cases of U.S. military MRE, meals, ready to eat. Additionally, the soldiers detained 40 personnel, including three on a by-name "black" list of suspects who were caught in the outer cordon while trying to escape the area. Although intelligence reports narrowed in on the particular apartment complex as a haven for anti-coalition forces, no shots were fired during this operation. Preceded by Operation Bayonet Lightning, followed by Operation Clear Area.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bulldog Mammoth Military operations of the Iraq War in 2003 Military operations of the Iraq War involving the United States Military operations of the Iraq War involving Iraq