Battle of Haditha
The Battle of Haditha took place between U.S. forces and Ansar al-Sunna in early August 2005 on the outskirts of the town of Haditha, Iraq, which was one of the many towns that were under insurgent control in the Euphrates River valley during 2005.
| Battle of Haditha | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Iraq War | |||||||||
Scene of the AAV destroyed in the operation at Haditha | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
| United States |
Al-Qaeda in Iraq Ansar al-Sunna Other Iraqi insurgents | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
| Col. Stephen W. Davis |
Saeed Huwair (former army officer) Hatim Muslim (Ansar al-Sunnah commander for western Anbar) | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| ~1,000 marines | Unknown | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
|
21 killed 1 wounded | 40 killed | ||||||||
The battle was initiated when a pair of three-man United States Marine Corps STA (Surveillance, Target, and Acquisition) teams in Haditha were surprised and overrun by a small insurgent force. All six men were found dead after the battle.
Two days after the killings, Marine forces launched Operation Quick Strike to disrupt insurgent presence in the Haditha area. On the second day of that operation, a Marine Amphibious Assault Vehicle hit a large roadside bomb, killing 15 out of the 16 on board.