Baqubah, 2007

The battle, stage by stage

1. Early June 2007

   The capital of a self-declared state

   Al-Qaeda in Iraq had proclaimed Baqubah, capital of Diyala province, the capital of its 'Islamic State of Iraq' in late 2006, and ran courts, torture houses and public executions there. Since March, 5-20 Infantry of the 3rd Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, and 1-12 Cavalry of the 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, had fought through Buhriz, Tahrir and the east bank, at heavy cost — on 6 May a buried bomb in Old Baqubah's 'Trash Alley' killed six soldiers and a Russian photojournalist. West of the Diyala River, Mufrek, Mujema and Khatoon were contained but untouched. In mid-June the rest of the brigade under Col. Steve Townsend, with 1-23 Infantry, moved to FOB Warhorse. District positions on this map are schematic.

2. Night of 18–19 June 2007

   Air assault and cordon

   Operation Arrowhead Ripper opens at night. Stryker infantry fly in by helicopter — one documented landing is Company B, 4-9 Infantry, of the 4th Stryker Brigade, into a village on the city's outskirts — while 4th Brigade units led by 2-1 Cavalry block the routes out to the west and north. Across Diyala some 10,000 U.S. troops are committed, with attack helicopters, close air support, Strykers and Bradleys, and Iraqi soldiers and police. U.S. commanders later said most of al-Qaeda's senior leaders in the city had already slipped away.

3. 19–20 June 2007

   The pincer on the west bank

   At first light the two Stryker battalions close a pincer on western Baqubah: 1-23 Infantry pushes into Mufrek and 5-20 Infantry into Khatoon, crossing open ground to avoid bomb-lined roads, while 1-12 Cavalry holds the eastern half and Old Baqubah. Resistance is lighter than feared, but houses are rigged with explosives and Apache helicopters and aircraft strike strongpoints and caches. Near a Khatoon bridge, Iraqi soldiers kill five men caught planting bombs. By the second day the command reports at least 30 insurgents killed.

4. 21–28 June 2007

   House by house

   The clearance goes block by block through Mujema and Khatoon. Soldiers find an al-Qaeda courthouse and a torture house, houses packed with water heaters full of explosives, and shallow graves in courtyards. The heaviest fighting comes around 23–28 June. An Iraqi Army brigade of the 5th Division joins the fight, and within four days food and water are being handed out to residents. By 29 June the command counts some 60 fighters killed, 74 detained and 18 booby-trapped buildings destroyed; the command acknowledged that one munition missed its target and injured 11 civilians.

5. July 2007

   Old Baqubah and the markets

   With the west bank held, the effort turns to Old Baqubah, the markets and the southern palm groves. On tips from residents, 34 suspects are detained in the old city; mortar teams firing from the palm groves near Buhriz are hunted down. Government food convoys arrive from Baghdad, the Diyala Electrical Industries plant reopens, and Townsend meets former insurgent leaders who agree to serve as 'Baqubah Guardians' alongside the Iraqi police. Fighting flares again in late July and August, much of it against booby-trapped houses.

6. 15–19 August 2007

   Buhriz holds

   On 15 August as many as 60 insurgents, some in suicide vests, attack Buhriz. Iraqi police and armed local volunteers fight them for about three hours, with 1-12 Cavalry and attack helicopters in support; U.S. officials report more than 20 attackers killed, while Iraqi police say up to 14 civilians died. Arrowhead Ripper formally ends on 19 August, already succeeded by Operation Lightning Hammer in the Diyala River valley. Baqubah was largely secured, though insurgents remained in the province.