Operation Phantom Phoenix was a major nationwide offensive launched by the

Multinational Force Iraq Multinational may refer to: * Multinational corporation, a corporate organization operating in multiple countries * Multinational force, a military body from multiple countries * Multinational state, a sovereign state that comprises two or more na ...

(MNF-I) on 8 January 2008 in an attempt to build on the success of the two previous corps-level operations, Operation Phantom Thunder and Operation Phantom Strike and further reduce violence and secure Iraq's population, particularly in the capital

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 ...

. The offensive consisted of a number of joint Coalition and Iraqi Army operations throughout northern Iraq as well as in the southern Baghdad Belts. The northern operation was designated Operation Iron Harvest. Its objective was to hunt down the remaining 200 Al-Qaeda extremists remaining in the province of Diyala following the end of the previous offensive. The operation also included targeting insurgent elements in Salah ad-Din province and

Nineveh province 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 ...

. The southern operation was designated Operation Marne Thunderbolt and targeted insurgent safe havens in the belts to the south-east of Baghdad, particularly the

Arab Jabour Arab Jibor (or Jabour) is a neighborhood of Baghdad, Iraq. It is a predominantly Sunni area to the immediate south-east of Baghdad that lies to the west of the Tigris River. It has an estimated population 12,00 of which 80% are Sunni. It is a fer ...

region. Additionally, Phantom Phoenix's aims were the remaining car, truck and suicide bomb networks in Baghdad as well as al-Qaeda's financial network.

Background

In mid-October 2006, al-Qaeda announced the creation of

Islamic state of Iraq The Islamic State of Iraq (ISI; ar, دولة العراق الإسلامية '), commonly referred to as al-Qaeda in Iraq ( ar, القاعدة في العراق '), is a militant Salafist jihadist group that aimed to establish an Islamic stat ...

(ISI), replacing the Mujahideen Shura Council (MSC) and its al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI). According to Lt General

Raymond Odierno Raymond Thomas Odierno (8 September 1954 – 8 October 2021) was an American military officer who served as a four-star general of the United States Army and as the 38th chief of staff of the Army. Prior to his service as chief of staff, Odiern ...

, the goal of the operation was to provide security for the nine major cities in Iraq, with an emphasis on securing

. The operation built on the previous two major operations, Operation Phantom Thunder and Operation Phantom Strike, which were launched at the conclusion of the US troop build-up in June 2007, in order to eliminate insurgent safe havens throughout the Baghdad Belts and secure the population of Baghdad.

Coalition military units involved

Multi-National Division-North

*4th

Stryker The Stryker is a family of eight-wheeled armored fighting vehicles derived from the Canadian LAV III. Stryker vehicles are produced by General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada (GDLS-C) for the United States Army in a plant in London, Ontario. I ...

Brigade Combat Team (BCT), 2nd Infantry Division – Diyala province. *3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment – Nineveh province. *1st BCT,

10th Mountain Division The 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) is a light infantry division in the United States Army based at Fort Drum, New York. Formerly designated as a mountain warfare unit, the division was the only one of its size in the US military to re ...

– Kirkuk area *1st BCT, 101st Airborne Division – Salah ad-Din province.

Multi-National Division-Center

* 3rd Infantry Division – southern Baghdad Belts. **2nd BCT, 3rd Infantry Division **3rd HBCT, 3rd Infantry Division **3rd Aviation Brigade *3rd BCT, 101st Airborne Division *

214th Fires Brigade The 214th Fires Brigade is an inactive field artillery brigade in the United States Army. The brigade inactivated on May 21, 2015, at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. History Following its transformation to a modular field artillery brigade in 2006, the 2 ...

Operation timeline

Diyala and Salah ad-Din operations

On 8 January 2008, Multi-National Division-North (MND-N) launched Operation Iron Harvest against Al Qaida in Iraq elements in the Diyala province with operations concentrated on

Muqdadiyah Miqdadiyah ( ar, المقدادية; ku, Şareban, شاره‌بان) is a city in the Diyala Governorate of Iraq. Its population is a mix of Arabs, Turkmens and Kurds. The city is located about 80 km (50 mi) northeast of Baghdad and 30&nbs ...

. Following up on Operation Iron Reaper launched in November 2007, Iron Harvest consisted of two sub-operations: Operation Raider Harvest, carried out by the 4th BCT of the 2nd Infantry Division in Diyala province; and operation Warrior Harvest, carried out by the 1st BCT of the 10th Mountain Division in

Kirkuk province Kirkuk Governorate ( ar, محافظة كركوك, Muḥāfaẓat Karkūk, ku, پارێزگای کەرکووک, Parêzgeha Kerkûkê/Parêzgayi Kerkûk, tr, Kerkük ili) or Kirkuk Province is a governorate in northern Iraq. The governorate has an ...

(formerly At-Ta'mim province). During the first month of the operation, a contingent of US Marines supported the 4th BCT of the 2nd Infantry Division (Operation Raider Harvest). They were requested from MNF-W to provide support with MRAPs and ground forces. They assisted in conducting cordon-raids, convoy operations, patrols, and worked with US Army Special Forces. In the lead up to the operation an information blackout aimed at most of the MNF-I's

New Iraqi Army The Iraqi Ground Forces (Arabic: القوات البرية العراقية), or the Iraqi Army (Arabic: الجيش العراقي), is the ground force component of the Iraqi Armed Forces. It was known as the Royal Iraqi Army up until the coup ...

comrades was implemented—it has been reported that the Iraqi army had previously used unencrypted forms of communications including regular cellphones and radio.U.S. Attack in Iraq Is No Surprise to Many Insurgents

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

, 9 January 2008Six US troops die in Iraq blast

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

, 9 January 2008 Following the communications blackout, American troops began a major offensive to drive Sunni insurgents from strongholds in the Diyala and Salah ad-Din provinces. Despite the preemptive measures, insurgents are believed to have gained prior knowledge of the operation plans and pulled out before the Americans arrived. It has been speculated by MNF-I commanders that militants may have been tipped off by communications leaks or by the visible movements of troops and machinery preceding the operation. However some insurgents remained in the province to engage the coalition troops in a possible attempt to delay further advances. Seven American battalions, accompanied by Iraqi Army units, advanced into a area in the northern Diyala River valley. Decoy operations were attempted in

Baqubah Baqubah ( ar, بَعْقُوبَة; BGN: Ba‘qūbah; also spelled Baquba and Baqouba) is the capital of Iraq's Diyala Governorate. The city is located some to the northeast of Baghdad, on the Diyala River. In 2003 it had an estimated populat ...

and Wajihiya to the south to mislead the insurgents however advance units noticed an unusual number of women and children fleeing south in cars in the days before the operation. Insurgent fighters left the villages days before but some remained behind or returned to plant car bombs. During fighting in Diyala over the course of 24 hours up to 24 insurgents were killed and ten captured. In Salah ad-Din at the same time three US soldiers were killed and two wounded after their vehicle hit an IED.9 US Soldiers Killed in Iraq in 2 Days

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. ne ...

, 10 January 2008 On the second day of the operation American troops involved in the operation suffered further casualties. Six soldiers were killed and four wounded in a blast as their patrol investigated a house which was rigged with explosives. Fighting continued near Muqdadiyah on day three of the offensive. Eight insurgents were killed in Muqdadiyah and another two insurgents were killed elsewhere in Diyala. On day 7, 15 insurgents were killed when heavy fighting erupted in Buhriz, a small village south of Baquba. During house searches by Iraqi Police, three Iraqi policemen and two

Awakening Council The Sons of Iraq ( ar, أبناء العراق ''Abnāʼ al-ʻIrāq'') were coalitions between tribal sheikhs in the Al Anbar province in Iraq as well as former Saddam Hussein's Iraqi military officers that united in 2005 to maintain stability ...

militiamen were killed when the house they were searching blew up because of booby traps laid by militants. Another two policemen were missing. Another Awakening Council militiaman was killed in fighting on the outskirts of town. On day 10, an IED killed three US soldiers in Salah ad-Din and wounded two. On day 12, Coalition and Iraqi Army forces reported 121 militants killed, and 1,023 suspected militants captured so far. Also on the same day there was an attempted attack on the governor of Diyala province. Three security personnel were killed and two wounded when a bomb exploded at his residence. By day 16, Coalition troops cleared a key route between Baghdad and Baqubah of improvised explosive devices. The area of the road between Khan Bani Sa'ad and Baqubah had been so heavily covered in IEDs that vehicles had to take other routes to get back and forth from Baghdad and Baqubah. It was also confirmed that 41 of all the insurgents killed in Diyala by then during the operation were al-Qaeda in Iraq operatives. On day 19, Iraqi Security Forces, advised by US Special Forces, detained an extremist leader and a terrorist financier in separate operations in Safwan, Iraq. Iraqi and US forces also detained the leader of an extremist group believed to be responsible for mortar and explosive projectile attacks against Iraqi and Coalition Forces. By 10 February 2008 Coalition forces and Iraqi Security Forces had conducted 74 different operations at the company level and above as part of Iron Harvest. Seventy high-value individuals were captured or killed, in addition to hundreds of other lower-level enemy fighters. 430 weapons caches, 653 IEDs, 42 HBIEDs, 35 VBIEDs, and 3 VBIED factories were all found and cleared. On day 42, Iraqi army and police forces backed by US aircraft and fighters from local anti-Al-Qaida Awakening Council group carried out a raid at dawn on insurgent hideouts on the open areas near

Lake Tharthar Lake Tharthar (also Therthar), and known in Iraq as Buhayrat ath-Tharthar ( ar, بحيرة الثرثار), is an artificial lake opened in 1956, situated 100 kilometers (62 mi) northwest of Baghdad between the Tigris and the Euphrates rivers. H ...

, 120 km north of Baghdad in Salah ad-Din province, on Saturday, killing 10 suspected insurgents, including a local leader, and capturing 4 others, a provincial police officer said. Abdul Basit al-Nissani, a local leader of the al-Qaida in Iraq network, blew himself up after he was surrounded by the security forces while crossing a small river, he said. On 25 March, UK SAS troops conducted a raid on a bomb-making team that left one UK soldier dead along with two insurgents and nine civilians, including women and children. Four British soldiers were wounded. On 13 April Coalition forces from MND-N discovered a mass grave south of

. The grave contained between 20 and 30 bodies which are estimated to have been buried for nearly eight months. On 15 April, in Baquba as many as 36 people were killed and at least 66 more were wounded during a car bombing near the courthouse. The VBIED (vehicle borne improvised explosive device) was determined to have contained over 1,000 pounds of home-made explosives (HME). On 17 April, near Tuz Khormato in the village of al-Bu Mohammed, at least 50 people were killed and 55 more were wounded when a suicide bomber blew up his explosives at a funeral for two US-allied Awakening Council militia members killed a day earlier. The older bomber was dressed in traditional garb and allowed to enter the funeral freely.

Fighting in Ninawa and Kirkuk

As part of Operation Phantom Phoenix, security operations were conducted against Al-Qaeda's last major urban stronghold in the city of Mosul. An offensive was started in late January. A day after Iraqi reinforcements began arriving in the region, five US soldiers were killed when an American patrol was ambushed in the city. The offensive also included operations in the cities of

Tal Afar Tal Afar ( ar, تَلْعَفَر, Talʿafar, ) is a city in the Nineveh Governorate of northwestern Iraq, located 63 km (39 mi) west of Mosul, 52 km (32 mi) east of SinjarKirkuk, also major urban centers in the north of the country. Operations were also conducted in the north-western Jazeera Desert between Mosul and the Syrian border, focusing on the towns of Baji and

Sinjar Sinjar ( ar, سنجار, Sinjār; ku, شنگال, translit=Şingal, syr, ܫܝܓܪ, Shingar) is a town in the Sinjar District of the Nineveh Governorate in northern Iraq. It is located about five kilometers south of the Sinjar Mountains. Its p ...

. By late April Coalition forces had made small gains in the north and intelligence reports suggested that Al-Qaeda was regrouping and infiltrating squads of suicide bombers into Baghdad from the north. In mid-May, a major Iraqi military operation codenamed Operation Lion's Roar (later renamed to Operation Mother of Two Springs) was conducted in Mosul which resulted in the capture of 1,480 insurgents, 300 of them wanted suspects. The operation ended by late May and with it the Ninawa and Kirkuk provinces were declared secured by the Iraqi Army. However, in early June remnant insurgent forces conducted a string of suicide bombings in the north leaving dozens of people dead, many of them members of the security forces. The US military also came under attack in the Hawija area, south of Kirkuk, leaving four soldiers dead and 20 more wounded in two separate attacks within a four-day period. By late that month it was reported that all security gains made by the security forces during operation Lion's Roar had disintegrated. Insurgents managed to re-enter the city and gunmen were seen roaming the streets in force.

Southern Iraq

On 8 January, Operation Marne Thunderbolt was launched by Multi-National Center (MND-C) and was the largest operation carried out by the 3rd Infantry Division to date. Its objective was to eliminate al Qaida in Iraq safe havens in Arab Jabour. The operation was spearheaded by the 5th squadron of the 7th Cavalry regiment. It is notable for the unusual amount of air power used during the operation. Air assault arab jabour

On day three of the offensive two B-1 bombers and four F-16 fighters carried out massive air-strikes on

, a Sunni district on the southern outskirts of Baghdad. Arab Jabour, a mainly rural district, was one of a few areas of Baghdad that remained under the control of insurgents after

Operation Law and Order Operation Law and Order was an Israeli military operation against a Hezbollah base in the village of Maydoun. Background On April 26, 1988, a Hezbollah infiltration attempt at Har Dov ended in a battle during which an Israeli officer, Lieuten ...

the previous year. The planes dropped 47 bombs on targets in Arab Jabour in ten separate strikes. The entire raid lasted for ten minutes and the total tonnage of the bombs was 40,000 pounds (18,100 kg).US launches massive Iraq air raid

, 10 January 2008 The 40 targets hit in the huge barrage of air-strikes consisted mainly of large weapons caches, explosives, tunnels and powerful roadside bombs buried deep underground – key defensive elements for Al Qaeda in Iraq insurgents reported Army Col. Terry Ferrell. After the raids ground operations followed up and 12 suspected insurgents were captured near Arab Jabour. On day 14, US warplanes pounded suspected Al-Qaeda havens and weapons caches in Arab Jabour for the third time since the operation began, hitting more than 30 targets in a 35-bomb blitz, the military said. The mainly Sunni Arab Jabour rural area was hit with bombs weighing a total of 19,000 pounds (9,000 kilograms) during the air raids, which aimed to destroy roadside bombs arms caches, and Al-Qaeda havens a military statement said. The raid follows two previous air strikes in the same area on 10 and 16 January. A total of nearly 100 targets were hit with a combined weight of 98,000 pounds of bombs during the three air strikes. On 15 February 2008, MND-C transitioned from Marne Thunderbolt to Marne Grand Slam. During the initial phase of the operation, the 3rd BCT of the 3rd Infantry Division established a new Combat Outpost in Salman Pak, an area that was a stronghold of the

Republican Guard A republican guard, sometimes called a national guard, is a state organization of a country (often a republic, hence the name ''Republican'') which typically serves to protect the head of state and the government, and thus is often synonymous wit ...

before the war. Coalition forces also established a government center in the area and introduced hundreds of thousands of dollars in micro-grants to rebuild local markets. On 15 March, the Iraqi Army, with support from a US

Military transition team A Military Transition Team or Transition Team, commonly abbreviated as MiTT, in the context of the United States Military, is a 10 – 15 soldier team that trains foreign national and local security forces. The term has been used in the "War on Ter ...

from the 3rd Infantry Division, launched Operation Marne Rugged in the

Tigris River The Tigris () is the easternmost of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia, the other being the Euphrates. The river flows south from the mountains of the Armenian Highlands through the Syrian and Arabian Deserts, and empties into the P ...

valley southeast of the Arab Jabour and Salman Pak regions. The goal of the operation was to secure the approaches to MND-C's area of operations, particularly to control river crossings given the poor condition of bridges and canals in the area. On 10 April, Iraqi Army soldiers discovered 33 bodies in a mass grave in Mahmudiyah. It was the first such discovery of a mass grave in MND-C's

area of operations In U.S. armed forces parlance, an area of operations (AO) is an operational area defined by the force commander for land, air, and naval forces conduct of combat and non-combat activities. Areas of operations do not typically encompass the entire ...

since it was established as part of the "surge" in 2007.

Operation ends

Combat operations continued until late July. Heavy casualties were sustained on both sides. Although the Coalition military suffered just over 60 dead, the Iraqi security forces and the Awakening Councils forces suffered more than 770 dead and more than a dozen missing or captured. The insurgents suffered almost 900 dead and more than 2,500 were captured. Diyala province had been almost entirely cleared of insurgent forces. On 29 July, the Iraqi security forces started their own offensive in Diyala province and stated the operation would last for two weeks and will result in the final establishing of law and order in the province.
/ref> However, in the north the situation was totally different. After Coalition operations initially beat back the insurgents in the northern Ninawa and Kirkuk provinces the rebels came back and heavy fighting was still going on for the north by the end of operation Phantom Phoenix with the security forces still not being able to overcome the last insurgent stronghold in the north, Mosul.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Phantom Phoenix, Operation 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 2008