Battle of Najaf (2004)

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The First Battle of Najaf

U.S. soldier looks towards the An Najaf cemetery in Iraq during the Battle of Najaf

Date	August 5, 2004 - August 27, 2004
Location	Najaf, Iraq
Result	Indecisive (Negotiated ceasefire.)
Casus belli	Uprising of the al-Mahdi Army of Muqtada al-Sadr

Combatants

United States

Iraq

al-Mahdi Army

Commanders

Col. Anthony Haslam

Muqtada al-Sadr

Strength

2,000 U.S. Marines
1,800 Iraqi Security Forces

2,000

Casualties

13 killed, 100+ wounded (U.S.)
40 killed, 46 wounded (Iraqi Security Forces)

159 killed, 261 captured

Iraq War
Invasion – Post-invasion (Insurgency – Civil War) Battles & operations – Bombings and terrorist attacks

The Battle of Najaf was a battle that was fought between U.S. and Iraqi forces, and the Islamist Mahdi Army of Muqtada al-Sadr in the Iraqi city of Najaf in August 2004.

On July 31, 2004 the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit, under the Polish-led Multi-National Division Central South (MND-CS), assumed operational control of the An Najaf and Al Qadisiyah provinces from Task Force Dragon, comprised of elements of the 1st Infantry Division. In June 2004, Task Force Dragon relieved the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment who had been extended twice in Iraq.

The MEU and the Mahdi Army first exchanged fire on August 2, when a patrol of U.S. Marines came near a maternity hospital on the outskirts of areas of the city authorized for U.S. presence under the cease-fire agreement reached in June between coalition forces and Muqtada Sadr, as brokered by the Governor of Najaf, other local civic leaders and the Bayt al-Shia (the informal counsel of senior Shia clerics). Both sides withdrew to their respective strongholds soon afterwards. Although the U.S. has released nothing connecting two, the maternity clinic was located directly across the street from the home of Muqtada al-Sadr.

The ensuing battle began on August 5, when the Mahdi Army attacked an Iraqi Police Station at 1 am. Their first attack was repelled by the Iraqis but they soon regrouped and attacked again at 3 am. Soon after, a quick reaction force from the MEU was dispatched at the request of the governor of An Najaf. Around 11 am, the QRF came under heavy machinegun and mortar fire from the Mahdi Army within the Wadi-us-Salaam, the largest cemetery in the Muslim world.

A U.S. helicopter carrying a wounded American service member was shot down by small-arms fire on the second day of the fighting. Four U.S. military personnel were killed during the heavy street battles fought between the Mahdi Army and U.S. and Iraqi forces, until the MEU momentarily withdrew on August 7.

On August 9, as the MEU and the Mahdi Army continued their battle, the U.S. added three battalions to the battle:

1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division
2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division
1st Battalion, 227th Aviation Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division.

During the fighting half a dozen U.S. Abrams tanks and Bradley fighting vehicles were damaged or destroyed by insurgent RPG fire in the narrow streets. In the beginning most of the fighting took place in the center of the city and then moved through the cemetery.

After several days the fighting shifted again, this time to around the Imam Ali Mosque, one of the holiest sites for Muslims, particularly Shiites. All remnants of the Mahdi Army withdrew to the shrine and took refuge there. U.S. Marines from the MEU encircled the shrine and began a siege. The fighting damaged two of the minarets of the mosque in which al-Sadr's forces have taken refuge.

On August 23, at least 15 explosions, many sounding like artillery shells, rocked the area, as shrapnel fell in the courtyard of the gold-domed mosque and gunfire echoed through the alleyways. On August 26, 2004, two F-16s flying out of Balad, dropped four 2000 pound JDAMs (Joint Direct Attack Munitions) on two hotels in close proximity to the Imam Ali Shrine. Insurgents who were holed up in the second holiest shrine in the Islamic faith, would retreat to the hotels at night. The successful airstrike dealt a devastating blow to Sadr and led to a hasty settlement with Sistani as he arrived in Najaf the following morning. The fighting was eventually ended by a peace agreement; although the neighboring buildings suffered considerable damage, the mosque itself suffered only superficial damage from stray bullets and shrapnel.

The battle ended on August 27, 2004 with a ceasefire. Under the rules of the ceasefire both U.S. forces and Mahdi Army withdrew from the city. Mahdi army fighters surrendered their weapons before leaving the city and none of them were detained. After that the Iraqi police took control of the security in the city. During the battle there were also heavy street battles in[Sadr City in Baghdad. A large number of insurgents who fought in the Najaf battle went to Sadr City to help the Mahdi Army in their guerrilla activities against U.S and Iraqi forces. A final agreement between the U.S. and Muqtada al-Sadr was found by the end of September and the fighting ceased in early October.