Operation Plymouth Rock was a major anti-insurgent sweep of an area south 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 ...

launched on 23 November 2004. Iraqi, American and

British troops The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurkhas ...

took part. Elements of the American

24th Marine Expeditionary Unit The 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (24th MEU) is one of seven Marine Expeditionary Units currently in existence in the United States Marine Corps. The Marine Expeditionary Unit is a Marine Air Ground Task Force (MAGTF) with a strength of about 2 ...

and the British

Black Watch The Black Watch, 3rd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland (3 SCOTS) is an infantry battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland. The regiment was created as part of the Childers Reforms in 1881, when the 42nd (Royal Highland) Regiment ...

Regiment took part.

History

Iraqi Security Forces The Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) is a term used by the United States Department of Defense (DoD) to describe law enforcement and military forces of the federal government of the Republic of Iraq. During the Iraq War, these entities received trainin ...

, backed by elements of the

, increased operations on 23 November 2004 in the south-central Iraqi town of Jabella. Operations, which started earlier in November, continued the campaign in the northern

Babil ''Bābili(m)'' * sux, 𒆍𒀭𒊏𒆠 * arc, 𐡁𐡁𐡋 ''Bāḇel'' * syc, ܒܒܠ ''Bāḇel'' * grc-gre, Βαβυλών ''Babylṓn'' * he, בָּבֶל ''Bāvel'' * peo, 𐎲𐎠𐎲𐎡𐎽𐎢 ''Bābiru'' * elx, 𒀸𒁀𒉿𒇷 ''Babi ...

province aimed at rooting out insurgent forces. The combined Iraqi-U.S. force captured 32 suspected insurgents, including a number of high-interest individuals, in a series of early-morning raids approximately 50 miles south of

. Jabella is among several cities and towns in the province that the

Interim Iraqi Government The Iraqi Interim Government was created by the United States and its coalition allies as a caretaker government to govern Iraq until the drafting of the new constitution following the National Assembly election conducted on January 30, 2005. T ...

, supported by the

Multi-National Force 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 ...

s, are determined to return to the Iraqi people. Ongoing operations in the North Babil province involved more than 5,000 Iraqi, U.S. and British forces. As

and their

U.S The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. partners began liberating

Fallujah Fallujah ( ar, ٱلْفَلُّوجَة, al-Fallūjah, Iraqi pronunciation: ) is a city in the Iraqi province of Al Anbar, located roughly west of Baghdad on the Euphrates. Fallujah dates from Babylonian times and was host to important Jew ...

earlier this month, insurgent activity intensified in northern Babil.

Insurgent An insurgency is a violent, armed rebellion against authority waged by small, lightly armed bands who practice guerrilla warfare from primarily rural base areas. The key descriptive feature of insurgency is its asymmetric warfare, asymmetric na ...

attacks rose in an apparent effort to divert attention from the high-profile battle west of Baghdad. Iraqi forces and Marines have maintained their own pressure, rounding up insurgents in daily raids, house-to-house searches and random vehicle checkpoints. They've been aided by a British armored battle group—the 1st Battalion of the

Black Watch Regiment The Black Watch, 3rd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland (3 SCOTS) is an infantry battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland. The regiment was created as part of the Childers Reforms in 1881, when the 42nd (Royal Highland) Regiment ...

. Through the combined operations, ISF and Multi-National Forces continue to make steady gains in the campaign to restore security and stability to

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

as the Iraqi people prepare to vote in nationwide elections in January. It followed the many operations including the most intense combat since Vietnam. The closest that the 2nd Operation in

Operation Phantom Fury can be related to is "Hue City" during the Tet Offensive.

References

External links

GlobalSecurity report
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 2004 Military operations of the Iraq War involving the United Kingdom Iraqi insurgency (2003–2011) United States Marine Corps in the Iraq War {{US-mil-operation-stub

History

See also

References

External links