The Battle of Najaf III

End between graves

The Ali mosque, in the background of the image, was the final objective of the operation aimed at defeating Muqtada's men. As you can see, getting there would not be an easy task, given the urban environment.

After the events of the first week of August 2004, the situation in Najaf had turned towards a tense calm, a prelude to what would follow. The first skirmishes had given way to a full-fledged battle when the marines of the 1st Battalion, 4th Regiment, under the command of Lieutenant (Lt) Colonel (Col) Mayer intervened in order to prevent an assault by cleric al Sadr's militiamen on the city's main police station. The first exchanges of fire were the trigger for both sides to deploy more troops to a fight that in its final phases pitted the entire Marine battalion against thousands of Iraqis.

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