The 2008 Nineveh campaign was a series of offensives and counter-attacks between insurgent and Coalition forces for control of the

Nineveh Governorate Nineveh Governorate (; , ) is a governorate in northern Iraq. It has an area of and an estimated population of 2,453,000 people as of 2003. Its largest city and provincial capital is Mosul, which lies across the Tigris river from the ruins of a ...

in northern

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

in early-to-mid-2008. Some fighting also occurred in the neighboring

Kirkuk Governorate Kirkuk Governorate (; ; ) or Kirkuk Province is a governorate in northern Iraq. The governorate has an area of . In 2017, the estimated population was 1,259,561 people. The provincial capital is the city of Kirkuk. It is divided into four Distri ...

Background

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

Islamic State of Iraq The Islamic State of Iraq (ISI; ') was a Salafi jihadist militant organization that fought the forces of the U.S.-led coalition during the Iraqi insurgency. The organization aimed to overthrow the Iraqi federal government and establish an ...

(ISI), replacing the Mujahideen Shura Council (MSC) and its

Al-Qaeda in Iraq Al-Qaeda in Iraq (; AQI), was a Salafi jihadism, Salafi jihadist organization affiliated with al-Qaeda. It was founded on 17 October 2004, and was led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi until its disbandment on 15 October 2006 after he was killed in a targ ...

(AQI). The capital of Ninawa province, Mosul, forms the northern tip of the "

Sunni Triangle The Sunni Triangle is a densely populated region of Iraq to the north and west of Baghdad inhabited mostly by Sunni Muslim Arabs. The roughly triangular area's points are usually said to lie near Baghdad (the southeast point), Ramadi (the southwes ...

" and lies on a sectarian fault line between Sunni Arabs and Kurds. Before the

Iraq War The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...

, it was a Ba'ath party stronghold and a major source of officers for the

Iraqi Army The Iraqi Ground Forces (Arabic: القوات البرية العراقية), also referred to as the Iraqi Army (Arabic: الجيش العراقي), is the ground force component of the Iraqi Armed Forces. It was formerly known as the Royal Iraq ...

. The U.S. 4th Infantry Division was originally tasked with entering northern Iraq through

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

, however the Turkish government blocked the attempt. Instead, 2,000 paratroopers from the

173rd Airborne Brigade The 173rd Airborne Brigade ("Sky Soldiers") is an Airborne forces, airborne infantry brigade combat team (IBCT) of the United States Army based in Vicenza, Italy. It is the United States European Command's conventional airborne strategic respo ...

and 1,000 U.S. Special Forces soldiers from the 10th Special Forces group opened a smaller front from

Kurdistan Kurdistan (, ; ), or Greater Kurdistan, is a roughly defined geo- cultural region in West Asia wherein the Kurds form a prominent majority population and the Kurdish culture, languages, and national identity have historically been based. G ...

, working with the Kurdish

Peshmerga The Peshmerga () are the internal security forces of Kurdistan Region. According to the Constitution of Iraq, regional governments are responsible for "the establishment and organization of the internal security forces for the region such as p ...

to secure Kirkuk and Mosul. As a result, the U.S. forces did not have a large military presence in Ninawa following the collapse of the Saddam Hussein regime. In early April 2003, the 173rd Airborne launched Operation Option North to secure Kirkuk and its nearby oilfields. Meanwhile, U.S. Special Forces and Peshmerga turned towards Mosul, securing the city on April 11 after the Iraqi Army V Corps surrendered. Despite efforts by the Special Forces commander, Lt. Col. Waltemeyer to keep Kurdish forces out of the city, Mosul fell into chaos with armed Kurds looting the city and forcing Arabs out of homes. At the same time, former Ba'athists and Iraqi military personnel fled south to Tikrit and began to form the insurgency. By the end of the first week of American occupation of Mosul, 31 Iraqis had been killed and 150 wounded. Towards the end of April, 20,000 soldiers from the U.S. 101st Airborne Division, led by Maj. Gen.

David Petraeus David Howell Petraeus (; born 7 November 1952) is a retired United States Army General (United States), general who served as the fourth director of the Central Intelligence Agency from September 2011 until his resignation in November 2012. Pri ...

arrived in Mosul and assumed responsibility for Ninawa province. In January 2004, 8,700 soldiers of the 3rd SBCT/2nd Infantry Division replaced the 101st Airborne, effectively halving the number of U.S. soldiers. Ethnic tensions in Mosul grew, with the Sunni Arabs and the insurgents occupying the west side of Mosul and the Kurds occupying the east side. The situation worsed in October 2004 when the 1st SBCT, 25th Infantry Division relieved the 3/2 SBCT. The 1/25 SBCT had only 3 battalions in Mosul since one of its battalions was redeployed to

Fallujah Fallujah ( ) is a city in Al Anbar Governorate, Iraq. Situated on the Euphrates, Euphrates River, it is located roughly to the west of the capital city of Baghdad and from the neighboring city of Ramadi. The city is located in the region ...

as part of Operation Phantom Fury. At the same time, insurgents moved from Fallujah to Mosul and began launching attacks. On November 11, 2004, insurgents conducted a large scale operation against police stations in Mosul, facing little resistance from the Iraqi police who refused to fight. Undermanned Coalition forces were forced to rely on thousands of Kurdish Peshmerga to help recapture the city, which was retaken after two weeks of heavy fighting. Between 2004 and 2006, a stalemate existed between the Kurdish forces in the east of the city (who had been reflagged as the 2nd Iraqi Army Division) and Sunni insurgents who were firmly entrenched in western Mosul. In early 2007, coalition forces launched a new counter insurgency strategy throughout Iraq, mainly focused on Baghdad and the surrounding belts. The U.S. military command responsible for Ninewa province, Multi-National Division North, was again forced to operate without one of its battalions when the 2nd battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment was deployed to Mansoor district as part of the Baghdad Security Plan. At this point, MND-N had one combat brigade in Ninewa Province, the 4th Brigade Combat Team of the 1st Cavalry Division, under the command of COL Stephen Twitty. This unit was composed of three combat battalions, including 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment and 1st Battalion, 9th Cavalry Regiment stationed at FOB Marez in Mosul and 5-82 FA BN at FOB Q-West near Qayarrah. These units were supported by the 4th Special Troops Battalion and the 27th Brigade Support Battalion. At the same time, the Iraqi Army 2nd Division had redeployed two of its battalions to Baghdad. Despite the reduced Coalition and Iraqi presence in Mosul, attacks fell by half, from between 15 and 18 attacks per day in December 2006, to 7-9 attacks in July. However, coalition operations in Diyala and Baghdad were forcing insurgents north along the Tigris River valley up to Mosul.

Preparations

Al qaeda in iraq and sunni insurgents march 2008

Following their defeats during Operation Phantom Thunder and Operation Phantom Strike in 2007 the insurgents lost their primary base of operations in Diyala province and were still under attack by Coalition forces as part of operation Phantom Phoenix. Having also lost their bases in Al Anbar and in Baghdad itself, remaining insurgent forces were forced to retreat towards northern Iraq and establish their main bases in Mosul, their last supply route through which they moved weapons, personnel and money from abroad into the country. Mosul also had strong strategic importance as a main logistics hub for Al-Qaeda in Iraq because of its size and location - sitting at crossroads between Baghdad, Syria, Turkey and Iran. The insurgents established a new base in Mosul and prepared for a 'decisive final battle' in the words of the Iraqi Prime Minister

Nouri al-Maliki Nouri Kamil Muhammad-Hasan al-Maliki (; born 20 June 1950), also known as Jawad al-Maliki (), is an Iraqi politician and leader of the Islamic Dawa Party since 2007. He served as the Prime Minister of Iraq from 2006 to 2014 and as Vice President ...

. If they lost their center in Mosul the insurgents would not be able to effectively fight anymore. By mid-January 2008, the US 1st Combined Arms Battalion, 8th Regiment had been redeployed to Mosul from Baghdad, joining the 3rd Squadron of the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment (3-3 ACR), who had been in the city since December 2007, when the 3ACR took over responsibility for Nineveh province from the 4th HBCT of the 1st Division. The city was split into two halves, with each unit responsible for security on their side. Two

battalions from the 2nd Division who had been deployed in Baghdad as part of Operation Imposing Law returned to Mosul. Also, in January 2008, Iraq established the Ninewa Operational Command (NOC), to coordinate the various Iraqi Security Force units operating in the province, as well as liaise with Coalition forces operating in the province. A Sunni Arab, Major General Riyadh Jalal Tawfiq, previously commander of the 9th IA Division, was selected to command the NOC.

The campaign

Sporadic fighting had already been going on since late 2007, after the insurgents had been routed from Diyala. In early 2008, however, Al-Qaeda wanted to make it clear that they could still fight effectively in Iraq. On January 23, a massive cache of explosives was detonated in an abandoned building in Mosul in the Zinjeli neighborhood. Insurgents were tipped off that Iraqi security forces were preparing to search the building and when the police came they detonated the explosive. The explosion killed 60 people, all of them civilians, wounded 280 and leveled several buildings. The next day, as the police was investigating the scene, of the massive bombing the day before, gunmen opened fire on them. At that time a suicide bomber targeted the car of the police chief of Mosul, who was on the scene, killing him and two other policemen. On January 25, the Iraqi Prime Minister ordered Iraqi military reinforcements to Mosul to begin an offensive to crush the remaining al-Qaeda elements that were still holding out in the area. The troops, tanks and helicopters began arriving in Mosul on January 27, including elements of the 35th Brigade, 9th (Armored) Division. General riyadh mosul 2008

However, a day after the reinforcements arrived insurgents ambushed a U.S. military patrol in the city killing five soldiers. The patrol was initially attacked by an IED, but then insurgents in a nearby mosque opened fire on soldiers in the patrol after the roadside bombing, prompting a fierce gunbattle as U.S. and Iraqi troops secured the area. Iraqi soldiers entered the mosque but the gunmen had already fled. During the fight for the north there was also some sporadic fighting in other areas, such as

Tal Afar Tal Afar (, ; ) is a city in the Nineveh Governorate of northwestern Iraq, located west of Mosul, east of SinjarAbu Yasir al-Saudi. Al-Saudi was a Saudi national who had previously fought in Afghanistan and had been involved in many deadly terrorist attacks across Mosul, including the January 28 ambush, since arriving in Iraq in August 2007 with three other Saudis. It was also reported that 142 insurgents had been killed or captured in Mosul since the operation began. Al-Qaida In Iraq Mosul Network 2008

On March 15, a force of between 10–12 insurgents attacked an Iraqi Army combat outpost with grenades, RPGs and small arms. The insurgents were repulsed and 3 were killed in the attack. On March 23, an insurgent suicide bomber, in a truck with a bullet-proof windshield, attacked Combat Outpost Inman, an Iraqi Army military base in western Mosul. He blasted through an armored vehicle to reach the courtyard of the military headquarters. In the ensuing explosion 13 Iraqi soldiers were killed and 42 people, including 30 soldiers, were wounded. On April 14, an insurgent suicide bomber attacked a group of Peshmerga soldiers near Sinjar. Following the attack insurgents opened up on them with small-arms fire and RPGs. 14 soldiers were killed and 15 wounded. On April 26, insurgents attacked an Iraqi Army checkpoint in Mosul. A suicide bomber detonated an explosive laden vehicle killing 2 Iraqi civilians and wounding 4. Insurgents than followed the explosion with small arms and RPG fire. Iraqi Army and Coalition forces returned fire, killing one terrorist.

Operation Lion's Roar

On May 10, the Iraqi Army, backed by 10,000 Sunni tribesmen loyal to the government, began Operation ''Za'eer al-Assad Fi Saulat al-Haq'' (Operation Lion's Roar in Arabic) in Mosul. A curfew was placed over the city at 9 pm and arrest warrants were issued for Al-Qaeda in Iraq leaders. The operation was announced by Major General Riyadh Jalal Tawfiq in a statement at the Ninewa Operational Command headquarters. During the first day of the operation, 92 targets were raided throughout Mosul On May 13, four days after the start of the military offensive, five Iraqi soldiers were killed in Mosul after their unit hit a roadside bomb in Mosul. The Iraqi Army announced that it had captured two senior al-Qaida in Iraq leaders east of Mosul. However, the Sunni Iraqi Accordance Front, said large numbers of gunmen had escaped to the Hamrin mountains following the start of the offensive. On May 14, the Iraqi Prime Minister,

arrived in Mosul to supervise the operation, mirroring a similar move made in March when he flew down to Basra to supervise the campaign there. Al-Maliki said the aim of the offensive was to clear the city of "criminal terrorist gangs" and "it intends to provide suitable conditions for the operation of state offices, enabling it to reconstruct the city and to deliver services to its people." The U.S. military spokesman, Maj. Gen. Kevin Bergner, announced that Iraq and U.S. forces had arrested 500 people and captured 5 weapons caches. A spokesman for the Iraqi Defence Ministry said that the

Iraqi Air Force The Iraqi Air Force (IQAF; ) is the aerial warfare service branch of the Iraqi Armed Forces. It is responsible for the defense of Iraqi airspace as well as the policing of its international borders. The IQAF also acts as a support force for t ...

was providing 24-hour surveillance of Ninewa to Iraqi commanders, a role that was previously provided by Coalition forces. May 15–16, Iraqi forces announced that they had detained 833 people in Operation Lion's Roar since it began. Two civilians were killed by stray bullets during fighting in Mosul, while

Iraqi Special Operations Forces The Counter Terrorism Service (CTS; ) is an Iraqi security and intelligence agency tasked with counterterrorism. The Service’s operational arm is called the Iraqi Special Operations Forces (ISOF; ). They are an elite special operations force co ...

captured a wanted

(ISI) member in western Mosul who was responsible for IED emplacements and providing information to ISI about the Iraqi Army. Iraqi security forces announced a 10-day amnesty for Iraqis to hand in medium and heavy weapons in exchange for cash. On May 19, Iraqi forces reported that they had captured Abdul Khaleq al Sabaawi, the

emir Emir (; ' (), also Romanization of Arabic, transliterated as amir, is a word of Arabic language, Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocratic, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person po ...

of Ninawa province, in a raid in

Tikrit Tikrit ( ) 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 Governorate. In 2012, it had a population of approximately 160,000. Originally created as a f ...

. The same day in the town of Baaj, 130 kilometers from Mosul, gunmen ambushed a bus carrying police recruits killing 11 of them. On May 23, Iraqi police announced the capture of Abu Ahmed, an al-Qaida in Iraq financier for the three northern governorates of Salah-ad-din, Kirkuk, and Ninawa. He also led several attacks against coalition forces in Salah-ad-din. On May 24, the Iraqi military operation in Mosul was declared over and the city and surrounding areas declared secured by the military. The Iraqi Army stated that Al-Qaeda had been cleared from their remaining stronghold in the country. During the operation 14 Iraqi soldiers were killed. Five when they were captured and executed and nine by two roadside bombs.

Al-Qaeda's counterattack

Following the strong success of Operation Lion's Roar, remnants of insurgent forces tried to conduct a string of bombings to counteract the military operations. On May 29, a double suicide bombing hit the north of the country. A suicide bomber in

Sinjar Sinjar (; , ) 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 population in 2013 was estimated at 88,023, and is predominantly Yazidi. History ...

, near the

Syrian Syrians () are the majority inhabitants of Syria, indigenous to the Levant, most of whom have Arabic, especially its Levantine and Mesopotamian dialects, as a mother tongue. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend ...

border, killed 17 people and wounded 42 others. 16 of the dead were policemen or police recruits. One civilian was also killed. The police chief was dismissed over the incident. Meanwhile, in Mosul, a suicide bomber driving a police vehicle killed three police commandos and wounded nine others, including two policemen. In a separate attack, at least 20 civilians were wounded when a car bomb exploded near a bus station in Mosul. On June 2, a suicide bomber with a car packed full of explosives targeted the Ninawa police station in eastern Mosul, killing 13 people, including five policemen, and wounding 50 others. On June 4, insurgents ambushed a U.S. military patrol in the town of Hawija, in the neighboring

, killing three soldiers. On June 8, a suicide car bomber attacked a U.S. military outpost in Hawija leaving one U.S. soldier dead. Another 18 soldiers and two Iraqi contractors were wounded. On June 26, a car bomb attack targeted the offices of Ninawa Provincial Governor Duraid Kashmula in Mosul. The attack left 18 people dead and 80 wounded. By this time 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.

Death of Al-Qaeda Leader in Mosul

On June 27, the U.S. military announced that it had killed Abu Khalaf, the leader of Al-Qaeda in Mosul. He was shot dead by American forces during a raid on a building in Mosul. Al-Qaeda suffered perhaps its greatest blow when American soldiers killed Khalaf, the "emir of Mosul". He had been a close associate of

Abu Musab al-Zarqawi Abu Musab al-Zarqawi (; , "Father of Musab, of Zarqa"; October 30, 1966 – June 7, 2006), born Ahmad Fadeel Nazal al-Khalayleh (), was a Jordanian militant jihadist who ran a training camp in Afghanistan. He became known after going to Iraq a ...

, the most notorious leader of Al-Qaeda in Iraq, who was killed in an airstrike two years before. An aide wearing a suicide vest died with the emir, as did a woman who tried to pull the detonator on his vest.

U.S. news coverage of victory over Al-Qaeda

On July 7 the ''

Investor's Business Daily ''Investor's Business Daily'' (''IBD'') is an American newspaper and website covering the stock market, international business, finance, and economics. Founded in 1984 by William O'Neil as a print newspaper, it is owned by News Corp and headquar ...

'' posted an editorial lamenting the failure of U.S. news media to report the defeat of

(AQI), while London's ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...

'' reported, "the culmination of one of the most spectacular victories of the war on terror." A terrorist force that once numbered more than 12,000, with AQI strongholds in the west and central regions of Iraq, has over two years been reduced to a mere 1,200 fighters, backed against the wall in the northern city of

Mosul Mosul ( ; , , ; ; ; ) is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of Nineveh Governorate. It is the second largest city in Iraq overall after the capital Baghdad. Situated on the banks of Tigris, the city encloses the ruins of the ...

. The editorial stated that the destruction of Al-Qaeda in Iraq was one of the most unlikely and unforeseen events in the long history of American warfare. Winning Isn't News ''

'', July 7, 2008

External links

Walling Mosul
– ''Long War Journal''

– ''New York Times''

– ''Independent'' article by Patrick Cockburn on the May 2008 offensive.
Map of Mosul

– ''New York Times''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nineveh campaign 2008 Military operations of the Iraq War in 2008 Campaigns of the Iraq War Iraqi insurgency (2003–2011) Military campaigns involving the United States Military operations of the Iraq War involving Iraq Military operations of the Iraq War involving the United States Campaign