Battle of Karbala

Battle of Karbala Part of 2003 Invasion of Iraq Mural of Saddam Hussein in Karbala, 7 April 2003 Date March 31–April 6, 2003 Location Karbala, Iraq Result American victory Belligerents Fedayeen Saddam Syrian mercenaries[1] 3rd Infantry Division 1st Armored Division 101st Airborne Commanders and leaders Unknown David Petraeus Casualties and losses 170-260 killed [2] 8 killed[1][3] 1 M1 Abrams tank disabled[4] 1 UH-60 Black Hawk shot down

v t e Iraq War Timelines 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Phases Invasion Post-invasion insurgency Civil war Insurgency 2008-2011 US withdrawal violence Post-withdrawal insurgency v t e Battles and operations of the Iraq War Umm Qasr Al Faw 1st Basra Nasiriyah Raid on Karbala 1st Najaf Northern Delay Viking Hammer Samawah 1st Karbala Al Kut Hillah Green Line Karbala Gap Baghdad Debecka Pass Kani Domlan Ridge Al Anbar 1st Ramadan Red Dawn Spring 2004 1st Fallujah Sadr City 1st Ramadi Husaybah 2nd Najaf CIMIC-House Samarra 2nd Fallujah Mosul Lake Tharthar Al Qaim Hit Haditha Steel Curtain Tal Afar 2nd Ramadi Together Forward Diwaniya 2nd Ramadan Sinbad Amarah Turki Diyala Haifa Street Karbala Raid 3rd Najaf Imposing Law U.K. bases Black Eagle Baghdad belts Baqubah Donkey Island Shurta Nasir Phantom Strike 2nd Karbala Phantom Phoenix 2008 Day of Ashura Ninawa Spring 2008 2nd Basra 2008 Al-Qaeda Offensive Augurs of Prosperity Abu Kamal Palm Grove v t e Major insurgent attacks of the Iraq War ‡ indicates attacks resulting in over 100 deaths § indicates the deadliest attack in the Iraq War 2003 1st Baghdad 2nd Baghdad Najaf 3rd Baghdad 1st Nasiriyah 1st Karbala 2004 ‡ Irbil ‡ Ashoura 1st Basra Mosul 4th Baghdad 5th Baghdad Karbala-Najaf 1st Baqubah Kufa FOB Marez 2005 ‡ 1st Al Hillah ‡ Musayyib 6th Baghdad ‡ 7th Baghdad 1st Balad Khanaqin 2006 ‡ Karbala-Ramadi 1st Samarra 8th Baghdad 9th Baghdad ‡ 10th Baghdad 2007 11th Baghdad 12th Baghdad ‡ 13th Baghdad 14th Baghdad 15th Baghdad 2nd Al Hillah ‡ 1st Tal Afar 16th Baghdad 17th Baghdad 2nd & 3rd Karbala ‡ 18th Baghdad Makhmour Abu Sayda 2nd Samarra 19th Baghdad ‡ Amirli 1st Kirkuk 20th Baghdad 21st Baghdad § Qahtaniya Amarah 2008 22nd Baghdad 2nd Balad 23rd Baghdad 4th Karbala 24th Baghdad Karmah 2nd Baqubah Dujail Balad Ruz 2009 25th Baghdad 26th Baghdad Baghdad-Muqdadiyah Taza 27th Baghdad 2nd Kirkuk 2nd Tal Afar ‡ 28th Baghdad ‡ 29th Baghdad ‡ 30th Baghdad 2010 31st Baghdad 32nd Baghdad 3rd Baqubah 33rd Baghdad 34th Baghdad 35th Baghdad ‡ 1st Pan-Iraq 36th Baghdad 37th Baghdad 2nd Pan-Iraq 38th Baghdad 39th Baghdad ‡ 40th Baghdad 2011 41st Baghdad ‡ 3rd Pan-Iraq Karbala-Baghdad 42nd Baghdad Tikrit 3rd Al Hillah 3rd Samarra Al Diwaniyah Taji 4th Pan-Iraq 43rd Baghdad 4th Karbala 44th Baghdad 2nd Basra 45th Baghdad 2012 46th Baghdad & 2nd Nasiriyah 3rd Basra 47th Baghdad 5th Pan-Iraq 6th Pan-Iraq

The 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,^[5] 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.^{[citation needed]}

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.^[3]

Capturing 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.^[1]

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.^{[citation needed]}

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.^[1]

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.^[1]

For their actions in Karbala, 3rd Battalion was awarded the Valorous Unit Award.

Notes

Further reading

• Atkinson, Rick (2005). n the Company of Soldiers: A Chronicle of Combat. Holt Paperbacks. ISBN 0805077731.