Battle of Basra (2008)

Battle of Basra (2008)
Part of Iraq War, Civil war in Iraq, 2008 Mahdi Army revolt
Location of Basra
Date March 25 2008 - March 31 2008 Location Basra, Iraq Result Indecisive (both sides claim victory); Maliki claims military victory, Sadr claims political victory (Mahdi Army remains in control of parts of the city, but pulls off the streets ; Maliki government politically weakened and agrees to immunity for Mahdi Army gunmen and a release of detained Mahdi Army members)
Belligerents
Iraq	Mahdi Army
Commanders and leaders
Nouri al-Maliki Lt. Gen. Ali Ghaidan Majid	Muqtada al-Sadr
Strength
30,000	16,000
Casualties and losses
Losses in personnel: 23 killed 23 captured 49 wounded Losses in equipment: 1 Mi-17 helicopter shot down 1 BMP-1 and 5 Dzik armoured vehicles destroyed 8 armoured vehicles captured	142 killed, 600 wounded, 155 captured (Iraqi Interior Ministry claim)
Civilian casualties: 50 killed

For other battles of Basra, see Battle of Basra.

The Battle of Basra began on March 25, 2008, when the Iraqi Army launched an operation (code-named Saulat al-Fursan, meaning Operation Charge of the Knights in Arabic) to drive the Mahdi Army militia out of the southern Iraqi city of Basra. The battle involved Coalition aircraft patrolling the skies above Basra and carrying out air strikes.

Background

Main article: Siege of U.K. bases in Basra

The UK military returned control of Basra to the Iraqi forces in December 2007 and concentrated its forces at the city airport. Two powerful Shi'ite factions, the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council and the followers of Muqtada al-Sadr, were fighting for power in Basra along with a smaller Shi'ite party, Fadhila. Muqtada al-Sadr's followers renewed their ceasefire in February 2008, under which they pledged not to attack rival armed groups or American forces in Iraq. The truce, however, came under strain in recent weeks as Iraqi forces detained "rogue" militia members. In previous months there have been a number of assassinations and kidnappings in Basra, as armed groups vie for control of lucrative oil-smuggling routes, according to BBC correspondents.

On March 8, in a response to queries from his followers about his long absence from Iraqi politics, Muqtada al-Sadr wrote that he had become disillusioned with Iraqi politics, saying that it has left him sick and anxious. "The continued presence of the occupiers, on the one hand, and the disobedience of many on the other, pushed me to isolate myself in protest. I gave society a big proportion of my life. Even my body became weaker, I got more sicknesses," Sadr wrote. Sadr has not been seen in public since May 2007.

Preparations

In 2007, the Iraqi Army moved 4 brigades, including a tank brigade, and a special forces battalion to Basra, replacing the existing brigade stationed there which was reported to have been corrupt. The Iraqi National Police also moved two battalions to Basra.

In August 2007, the Iraqi Army established the Basra Operational Command under the command of Lt General Mohan al-Furayji. The Vice Chief of Staff of the Iraqi Joint Staff said "We do not have enough forces there. That is why we are having a new division, the 14th Division, to be built in Basrah, especially with the possibility that the British might be leaving us in time."

On Thursday, March 20, Lt General Mohan al-Furayji, the commander of the Basra Operational Command warned his troops to prepare for a "final battle" in Basra to defeat Shia militia before provincial elections in October later this year.

Timeline of the battle

March 24

The Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and the commander in charge of all Iraqi ground forces, Lt General Ali Ghaidan Majid, arrived in Basra to oversee the operation, taking over from the Basra police chief, Maj. Gen. Abdul-Jalil Khalaf, and the head of the Basra Operational Command, Lt. Gen. Mohan al-Fireji. An indefinite nightly curfew was announced in Basra, as well as in al-Kut and Nasiriyah. Routes into Basra were sealed off, according to reports, and vehicles were also prohibited from entering the city. Sadr's organization promised violent retaliation in Basra if members of his Mahdi Army were targeted.

March 25

In the early morning, security forces entered the neighbourhood of al-Tamiya, a Mahdi Army stronghold. Shortly after, fighting erupted and the clashes later spread to five other neighbourhoods, including al-Jumhuriya, Five Miles and al-Hayania, the Mahdi Army's main stronghold in Basra. The Iraqi commander in charge, Lt Gen Ali Ghaidan, said the operation aimed to purge Basra of what he called "outlaws".

In response to the fighting the political movement of powerful Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr launched a nationwide civil disobedience campaign across Iraq to protest the raids and detentions against the Mahdi Army.

March 26

After an overnight lull, the fighting resumed in Basra on March 26. The AFP news agency quoted witnesses in Basra as saying the fighting was concentrated on the districts of Gazaiza, Garma, Khmasamene, Hayania and Maqal. Government troops were reportedly having trouble making in roads into neighborhoods that the radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army has controlled for years. Residents spoke of militiamen using mortar shells, sniper fire, roadside bombs and rocket-propelled grenades to fight off security forces. By late in the evening the assault on the port city stalled as Shiite militiamen in the Mahdi Army fought daylong hit-and-run battles and refused to withdraw from their positions. The Mahdi Army fighters also managed to overrun a number of police stations and checkpoints.

March 27

By March 27, residents in the city were beginning to run out of food and water. They said the Iraqi army broke into shops, took food and water, then set fire to shops and cars on the street. An oil pipeline near Basra, which carries oil for export, was damaged by a bomb.

The Dzik-3 was used by the Iraqi Army in Basra, many were lost

Mahdi Army fighters paraded around the wreckages of two Iraqi Army Dzik armoured vehicles and a BMP infantry fighting vehicle which were seen destroyed on the streets. A captured Iraqi Army Humvee along with 20 Iraqi soldiers that were said to have surrendered voluntarily to the militants were also presented. At this point, reports were circulating that Iraqi policemen and soldiers were refusing to fight or deserting their posts and abandoning their uniforms. Overnight, the chief of the police force escaped a roadside bomb attack on his convoy just outside the city which killed three of his bodyguards. The deputy police chief was also attacked in central Basra.

Late in the evening an Iraqi Army helicopter was shot down by militants.

March 28

On Friday, Major Tom Holloway, spokesman for the British Army, reported two air strikes were made in support of Iraqi forces in Basra on overnight. The air strikes, which occurred at 9pm on Thursday and shortly after midnight involved US Navy or Marine F/A-18 fighters firing cannon rounds at a militia stronghold and on a mortar team in Basra. Major Holloway reported coalition aircraft had been flying surveillance operations over Basra since the beginning of the fighting in support of the Iraqi offensive.

March 29

In the early hours of the morning a US air strike on the city killed eight Iraqi civilians, including 2 women and a child, according to Iraqi police. The Coalition spokesman, Major Brad Leighton, denied this report, saying an AC-130 gunship strafed heavily armed militants on the rooftops of three buildings, killing 16 militants. Major Leighton also reported the targets were identified by special operations forces before the attack. According to a US military statement, the strike occurred during an Iraqi special forces operation in western Basra to "disrupt criminal activities and capture criminal leaders" in a "known criminal stronghold". In addition to the 16 killed in the airstrike, 6 were killed by the Iraqi special forces after being engaged by small arms fire and RPGs at the target building. 2 Iraqi soldiers were wounded and a vehicle damaged during the operation.

File:Mahdi Army fighters take up positions during the street fighting in Basra.jpg

Mahdi Army fighters take up positions during the street fighting in Basra March 26, 2008.

UK artillery based at Basra airport fired 155mm shells into the city at a militia mortar position which had been firing at Iraqi security forces.

By this point the Iraqi military offensive against the city was faltering in the face of stiff resistance as the 72-hour ultimatum by the government passed and the militants refused to surrender. Reports of defecting and deserting soldiers and policemen were circulating and the Mahdi Army confirmed that seven American-made Humvees were given to them by sympathisers within the Iraqi army. An Iraqi Army battalion commander and two other Iraqi soldiers were killed during the night by a roadside bomb in central Basra. Iraq’s defense minister, Abdul-Kader Jassem al-Obeidi, stated that “We were surprised by a very strong resistance that made us change our plans.”

March 30

On March 30, militia fighters stormed a state TV facility in Basra forcing Iraqi military guards surrounding the building to flee and setting armoured vehicles on fire. A mortar attack against the palace that houses the military operations center killed one of al-Maliki's top security officials.

Later in the day al-Sadr ordered his followers to cease fighting. In a statement to the media, Sadr said: "Because of the religious responsibility, and to stop Iraqi blood being shed, and to maintain the unity of Iraq and to put an end to this sedition that the occupiers and their followers want to spread among the Iraqi people, we call for an end to armed appearances in Basra and all other provinces,"

The New York Times reported that as of March 30, Shiite militiamen still controlled large parts of Basra and were continuing to stage raids on Iraqi government forces.

March 31

Following the ceasefire, armed Mahdi Army militiamen no longer openly appeared on the streets and Basra appeared to be returning to normal with shops and schools starting to reopen. The commander of the 14th Division, Major-General Mohammed Jawan Huweidi, said his forces had control of the towns around Basra, as well as inside the city. He reported that his troops were now beginning to clear roadside bombs in the city. According to a spokesman for Nouri Al Maliki, Iraqi troops and police are in control of much of Basra, and local security forces are going house-to-house in some districts to confiscate weapons.

Time magazine reported that there had been "a large-scale retreat of the Mahdi Army in the oil-rich Iraqi port city because of low morale and because ammunition is low due to the closure of the Iranian border.". A US military officer confirmed that assessment to the Long War Journal, saying "In short [the Mahdi Army] had no ability to sustain the effort".

Nouri al-Maliki said security operations against "criminals and terrorist activities" would continue in Basra. The Iraqi defence spokesman said that reinforcements were being sent to Basra and preparations for fresh military operations to clear the city were being made.

April 1

Gunmen are reportedly off the streets and Iraqis cautiously emerge back on the streets of Basra with opening markets and men cleaning up trash from the roadsides. Maliki claims military "security, stability and success" and vows to continue operations with a seven point plan, including recruiting 10,000 new Iraqi security forces members and moving to enhance public services in Basra. Maj. Gen. Abdul Aziz Mohammad, director of military operations at Iraq's Defense Ministry, said the Iraqi military planned to seal and search every neighborhood to capture suspected criminals and confiscate weapons. Sadr vows to continue fight against occupation forces in a peaceful manner and plans mass demonstrations against the Coalition on April 8.

An Iraqi Special Weapons and Tactics team based in Hillah detained 20 vehicle smugglers in Basra as part of "continuing deliberate operations against criminals to restore a rule of law", according to a US military spokesman.

The British defense minister announces a pause in troop reductions.

Aftermath

In military terms the battle ended in a stalemate. However, by all accounts the Iraqi Army performed poorly during the battle, with the Mahdi Army defeating them in almost every battle during the fighting. Following the battle the Maliki government was politically weakened and forced to agree to a set of demands from al-Sadr including legal and military immunity for the Mahdi Army and a relase of its captured members.

Casualties

Police and health workers said at least 215 people were killed and 600 wounded in the fighting in districts of central and northern Basra, with at least 50 civilians among the dead. These claims are questionable though, since Al Sadr followers are known to be prominent in the health organization.

As of Sunday March 30, the Iraqi Army said that, as a measure of its success, it killed more than 120 militia fighters and wounded some 450. The BBC staff in Iraq estimated at least 300 total fatalities during the operation. One Basra official, speaking by phone to an Arabic satellite channel, said that after two days of fighting, more than 40 civilians had been killed.. On Monday, the Iraqi interior ministry chief, Maj. General Abdul-Kareem Khalaf, claimed 210 militiamen killed, 600 wounded and 155 captured since the beginning of the operation.

See also

• 2008 Mahdi Army revolt
• Siege of U.K. bases in Basra
• Battle of Karbala (2007)
• Battle of Amarah
• Battle of Diwaniya
• Battle of Najaf (2004)

External Links

• Detailed map of Basra from 2003 - University of Texas