Battle of Karbala (2003)

Infobox Military Conflict
conflict=Battle of Karbala
partof=2003 Invasion of Iraq


caption=Mural of Saddam Hussein in Karbala, 7 April 2003
date=March 31 - April 6 2003
place=Karbala, Iraq
result=American victory
combatant1=flagicon|Iraq|1991 Fedayeen Saddam
flagicon|Syria Syrian mercenaries [http://www.valorstudios.com/StrikeOnKarbala.htm]
combatant2=flagicon|United States 3rd Infantry Division
flagicon|United States 1st Armored Division
flagicon|United States 101st Airborne
commander1=N/A
commander2=David Petraeus
strength1=
strength2=
casualties1=170-260 killed [ [http://www.comw.org/pda/0310rm8ap1.html#10.%20Karbala,%20Karbala%20gap,%20and%20north%20to%20Baghdad Wages of War -- Appendix 1. Survey of reported Iraqi combatant fatalities in the 2003 war | Commonwealth Institute of Cambridge] ]
casualties2=8 killed [http://media.www.dailytoreador.com/media/storage/paper870/news/2003/04/03/RegionalNews/7.Soldiers.Killed.Near.Karbala-1276428.shtml] [http://www.valorstudios.com/StrikeOnKarbala.htm]
1 M1 Abrams tank disabled [http://www.janes.com/defence/land_forces/news/jdw/jdw030620_1_n.shtml]
1 UH-60 Black Hawk shot downThe Battle of Karbala took place during the 2003 invasion of Iraq as American troops fought to clear the city of Iraqi forces. The city had been bypassed during the advance on Baghdad, leaving American units to clear it in two days of street fighting against Iraqi irregular forces.

Bypassing the city

Lead elements of the U.S. 3rd Infantry Division had reached the Karbala area on March 31. After fighting through Republican Guard forces southeast of the city, [http://www.comw.org/pda/0310rm8ap1.html#10.%20Karbala,%20Karbala%20gap,%20and%20north%20to%20Baghdad] these forces bypassed the city and attacked through the Karbala Gap towards Baghdad. The task of clearing the city was left to the 101st Airborne Division, supported by the 2nd Battalion, 70th Armored Regiment, 1st Armored Division.

On April 2, a U.S. Army UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter was shot down by small arms fire near Karbala, killing 7 soldiers. Four other soldiers onboard were wounded. [http://media.www.dailytoreador.com/media/storage/paper870/news/2003/04/03/RegionalNews/7.Soldiers.Killed.Near.Karbala-1276428.shtml]

Clearing Karbala

The 101st planned to use helicopter-borne forces to seize three landing zones on the outskirts of the city(codenamed Sparrow, Finch and Robin) and then use an armored force of M1 Abrams tanks and M2 Bradley fighting vehicles to link up with these forces. [http://www.valorstudios.com/StrikeOnKarbala.htm]

At 11:00 in the morning on April 5, the 101st Airborne began its push to clear Karbala when airstrikes hit several targets around the city. This was followed by a helicopter assault in which 23 UH-60 Blackhawk and 5 CH-47 Chinook helicopters ferried three battalions of infantry from the 502nd Infantry Regiment to their designated landing zones.

3rd Battalion, 502nd Infantry at LZ Sparrow met heavy but disorganized resistance as they moved into the city. To the south, 2/502 at LZ Robin was also moving street by street, and discovered several arms caches hidden in schools. They also discovered a suspected terrorist training camp. By nightfall, 2/502 had cleared 13 of their 30 assigned sectors. 1/502, advancing from LZ Finch in the southeast, captured several weapons caches. Air support from helicopter gunships was used heavily during this operation, and artillery support was also used. Over 100 smoke shells were fired from supporting artillery to screen infantry moving through Karbala's streets. At the same time, 2/70 Armored Regiment had reached Karbala and was engaged in combat, losing 1 man killed when an RPG hit his Bradley. [http://www.valorstudios.com/StrikeOnKarbala.htm]

The next day, the units continued to clear their sectors. Resistance evaporated by 5:00 PM on April 6. At 5:30, a large statue of Saddam Hussein was torn down by members of the 2/70, 1st Armored Division. [http://www.valorstudios.com/StrikeOnKarbala.htm]

Notes

Further Reading

*cite book|id=ISBN 0805077731|title=n the Company of Soldiers: A Chronicle of Combat |last=Atkinson |first=Rick |publisher= Holt Paperbacks |year = 2005