Battle of Najaf (2007)

Battle of Najaf (2007)
Part of the Iraq War, Iraqi insurgency
File:Najaf helicopter.jpg Smoke from the site of the downed US attack helicopter
Date January 28 - 29, 2007 Location Najaf, Iraq Result Iraqi security forces victory
Belligerents
Iraq United States United Kingdom	Soldiers of Heaven
Commanders and leaders
Maj.Gen. Othman al-Ghanemi	Dia Abdul-Zahra† Ahmed al-Hassan(?)
Strength
unknown	800
Casualties and losses
11-25 killed (Iraqi forces) 2 killed (US)	Iraqi estimates of about 263 killed, 502 captured

The 2007 Battle of Najaf took place on January 28 2007 in Najaf, Iraq between Iraqi forces (later assisted by US and UK forces) and insurgents who had surreptitiously joined a throng of worshippers.

Beginnings

The battle started after the Iraqi Security Forces received a tip that a large insurgent force was gathering at Zarqa. The insurgents came under the cover of pilgrims, planning to attack Najaf and seize it along with the rest of the province on January 30 2007 during the Ashoura holiday, one of the holiest days on the Shi'ite religious calendar.

Their plans also included killing or capturing key Shia clerics including Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, attacking Shia pilgrims and imams, and seizing the Imam Ali Mosque. Iraqi police and a battalion from their 8th Army Division immediately left for Zarqa and arrived to find at least 800 Iraqi insurgents dug in lines of orchards holding well-fortified positions and armed with heavy weapons, some also wearing fake Iraqi uniforms.

Among the troubling questions raised about the Iraqis' military ability is how hundreds of armed men were able to set up such an elaborate encampment, which Iraqi officials said included tunnels, trenches and a series of blockades, only 16 kilometers, or 10 miles, northeast of Najaf. The government knew that there was a camp set up in the area, but officials thought they were there to worship together.

Battle

The raid turned into heavy fighting, with the Iraqi Army almost being overwhelmed. The government forces began to retreat but were soon surrounded and pinned down. During the hours-long battle, rebel fighters captured one wounded Iraqi soldier; they treated him at the compound and sent him back to his comrades with a message saying "the imam is coming back."[1] At one point the Iraqi forces called on the radio to say that they were running low on ammunition.

The fighting became so intense that support from US and British attack helicopters, F-16 fighter jets, and tanks were called in. The airstrikes helped break the stalemate, but not before one American attack helicopter was shot down killing two American soldiers. However, the Iraqi Army was still unable to advance, and they called in support from both an elite Iraqi unit known as the Scorpion Brigade, which is based to the north in Hilla, and American ground troops. Around noon, elements of the American 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, were dispatched from near Baghdad.

US and Iraqi troops reported having killed 263 and captured 502 rebels in the fierce fighting around the city. The majority of the fighters were Iraqi, but Brigadier General Fadhil Barwari stated that the group included 30 Afghans and Saudis and one Sudanese fighter. Shi'ite political sources said the gunmen appeared to be both Sunni Arabs and Shi'ites loyal to a heretical cleric called Dia Abdul-Zahra, and linked to the militant group Ansar al-Sunna.

Aftermath

Information recovered from dead and captured fighters indicate they belonged to a renegade Shiite group which called themselves the Soldiers of Heaven (Jund al-Samaa) and have been described as an apocalyptic religious cult. The cult leader, Dia Abdul-Zahra, who claimed to be the Mahdi, a prophet or messiah-like figure in Islam, was also reported to be killed. The U.S. military has referred to them only as gunmen. The soldiers were sweeping the area during the whole night, but some of the insurgents managed to break out toward Karbala.

Six Iraqi policemen and five soldiers had died in the fighting along with the two American soldiers. Another 15 policemen and 15 soldiers were wounded; among them was the Najaf's police chief. The Iraqi army said it captured some 500 automatic rifles in addition to mortars, at least 40 heavy machine guns, Russian-made Katyusha rockets and even some anti-aircraft missiles. Another Iraqi military official put the death toll for Iraqi security forces to at least 25.

The authorities may also have exaggerated their own military success. The signs are that they underestimated the strength of the Soldiers of Heaven and had to call for urgent American air support.[2] One U.S. advisor to Iraqi security forces cautioned against exaggerated casualty reports from the Iraqi government, saying that it was much too early to establish accurate figures.

Fog of war

On January 30 2007, the cult, whose leader was reported to have been involved in fighting, said it played no part in the battle. They said theirs was a peaceful movement not linked to the "Soldiers of Heaven" who fought the day-long battle. Conflicting accounts from Iraqi political and security sources have thickened the fog of war, making it difficult to determine exactly whom the Iraqi and U.S. soldiers fought.

The site of the fighting, in which some women and children were also killed, has been sealed off and wounded survivors are in hospital under guard, with reporters being kept away. Iraqi security officials said that a man calling himself Ali bin Ali bin Abi Talib and styling himself the Mahdi, had been killed in the fighting but that the whereabouts of his "messenger" Ahmed al-Hassan was not known.