Operation Quick Strike

BelligerentsUnited StatesAl-Qaeda in IraqAnsar al-SunnaOther Iraqi insurgentsCommanders and leaders Col. Stephen W. DavisSaeed Huwair (former army officer) Hatim Muslim (Ansar al-Sunnah commander for western Anbar)Strength ~1,000 marines UnknownCasualties and losses 21 killed1 wounded 40 killedThe Battle of Haditha took place between U.S. forces and Al-Qaeda in Iraq in early August 2005 on the outskirts of the town of Haditha, Iraq, which was one of the many towns that were under insurgent control in the Euphrates River valley during 2005. The battle was initiated when a pair of three-man United States Marine Corps STA (Surveillance, Target, and Acquisition) teams in Haditha were surprised and overrun by a small insurgent force. All six men were found dead after the battle. Two days after the killings, Marine forces launched Operation Quick Strike to disrupt insurgent presence in the Haditha area. On the second day of that operation, a Marine Amphibious Assault Vehicle hit a large roadside bomb, killing 15 out of the 16 on board. Marine snipers overrunOn the morning of 1 August 2005, a pair of three-man USMC Reserve STA teams on the outskirts of Haditha was attacked by a small insu