The Ramadan Offensive refers to the attacks mounted by insurgents in Iraq during the holy Muslim month of Ramadan in 2006, three years after the original Ramadan Offensive.[2]
| Ramadan Offensive (2006) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Iraq War | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
 United States  Iraq  United Kingdom  Denmark  El Salvador | |||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
|
Gen. George Casey |
 Abu Omar al-Baghdadi | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
10,000+ soldiers 6,000+ soldiers 2,500+ soldiers 500 soldiers 200 soldiers |
1,500+ soldiers | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
|
97 killed 119 killed[1] 2 killed 1 killed 1 killed |
Unknown | ||||||||
Among the targets were U.S., Iraqi and other Coalition military targets, but many civilians were also killed by death squads. Most of the civilian killings was conducted by the Mahdi Army who were seeking to purge the Sunni population of Baghdad. The offensive coincided with a Coalition operation called Together Forward which was to significantly reduce the violence in Baghdad which had seen a sharp uprise since the mid-February 2006 bombing of the Askariya Mosque, a major Shia Muslim shrine, in Samarra. However, the operation failed. Moreover, the insurgents managed take control of more than 80 percent of Baghdad. Also insurgents made huge gains in the western Al Anbar and southern Babil province, forcing Coalition and Iraqi security forces from many towns and cities. This period also saw the battle of Amarah, during which rogue Mahdi Army fighters fought with the police, who were members of the Badr Organisation, for control of the southern city of Amarah.[3]
References edit
- ^ Iraqi Interior Ministry says 119 policemen killed, 185 wounded in October - iht,africa,Iraq Violence - Africa & Middle East - International Herald Tribune
- ^ McCarthy, Terry (19 October 2006). "'Ramadan Offensive' Challenges Security in Baghdad". ABC News. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
- ^ "Shi'ite militia in show of strength - the Boston Globe".