Operation Defeat Al Qaeda in the North or OP DAN was an operation conducted by Marines, A co. 2/

504th Infantry Regiment The 504th Infantry Regiment, originally the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment (504th PIR), is an airborne forces regiment of the United States Army, part of the 82nd Airborne Division, with a long and distinguished history. The regiment was f ...

of the

82nd Airborne Division The 82nd Airborne Division is an Airborne forces, airborne infantry division (military), division of the United States Army specializing in Paratrooper, parachute assault operations into denied areasSof, Eric"82nd Airborne Division" ''Spec Ops ...

, an attachment of the

101st Airborne Division The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) ("Screaming Eagles") is a light infantry division of the United States Army that specializes in air assault operations. It can plan, coordinate, and execute multiple battalion-size air assault operati ...

, MWSS 374 and Iraqi security forces in 2008 in

Al Anbar Governorate Al Anbar Governorate ( ar, محافظة الأنبار; ''muḥāfaẓat al-’Anbār''), or Anbar Province, is the largest governorate in Iraq by area. Encompassing much of the country's western territory, it shares borders with Syria, Jordan, ...

, Saladin Governorate, and

Nineveh Governorate Nineveh Governorate ( ar, محافظة نينوى, syr, ܗܘܦܪܟܝܐ ܕܢܝܢܘܐ, Hoparkiya d’Ninwe, ckb, پارێزگای نەینەوا, Parêzgeha Neynewa), also known as Ninawa Governorate, is a governorate in northern Iraq. It has an ...

to hunt down and rid the Northern part of Iraq of insurgents. It was known that the desert north of Lake Tharthar was being used by insurgents to move weapons, munitions, and foreign fighters from Syria to Mosul. During Spring and Summer of 2008, a task force of Marines and paratroopers established a base of operations in the desert to the north of the lake and conducted patrols of the surrounding area to break the supply lines. The US forces managed to locate and destroy a large number of explosives and weapons, as well as kill or capture known enemy combatants. In the process, A co. 2/504th PIR conducted the first company-sized operation using the Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey. As these operations continued, Iraqi Army outposts were built and staffed, allowing for the Iraqi Army to assume the US forces' duties in Fall 2009.

References

Task Force Ninewa

Slide 1 – The Official 1st Marine Expeditionary Force Website
Military operations of the Iraq War involving the United States Military operations of the Iraq War in 2008 United States Marine Corps in the Iraq War {{Iraq-War-stub

See also

References