Information on the Iraqi forces fighting in Fallujah is difficult to come by as the media is focusing on the front line battles, which are mainly conducted by American soldiers and Marines. The Iraqi Army and National Guard have been widely criticized by the American media for problems with training and morale. Most recently, before the operation to take Samarra in October, almost half of one of the Iraqi battalions (about 300 of 750 men) deserted the unit after a suicide bombing that killed an officer of the battalion. The remaining Iraqi battalions, almost 2,000 soldiers, did fight well. The Iraqi insurgents are intentionally attacking fledgling Iraqi formations to destroy their will to fight and break the Coalition, as the future of the country is dependent on its security.
The opening moves of the assault on Fallujah were conducted by members of the Iraqi 36th Commando Battalion in conjunction with American Special Forces, which included the seizure of the main hospital and the two bridges spanning the eastern run of the Euphrates River. According to CENTCOM, The Iraqi Army (referred to as the Iraqi Intervention Force in the release) has provided five battalions in the attack. Four battalions operated in conjunction with American forces, while one battalion operated as an independent fighting force.
The 1st Battalion, 1st Brigade of the Iraqi Intervention Force attacked the city as an independent battalion, maneuvering under its own control, but in coordination with the multinational effort. The 1st Battalion is now in control of its own sector in the city.
The 2nd Battalion, 1st Brigade of the IIF attacked and seized the Hydra Mosque along with U.S. Marines of Regimental Combat Team 7.
The IIF’s 4th Battalion, 1st Brigade, is attacking targets along with U.S. Marine forces from the 1st RCT.
The 5th Battalion, 3rd Brigade of the Iraqi Army seized Al Tawfiq Mosque with U.S. Marines from the 7th RCT.
The 6th Battalion, 3rd Brigade of the Iraqi Army is manning vehicle check points along roads in the heart of the city alongside of the U.S. Army’s 2nd Brigade Combat Team.
The Iraqi Police Service’s Emergency Response Unit is also at the Hydra Mosque with IIF forces.
The 1st Battalion, 1st Brigade of the Iraqi Intervention Force is likely operating in the Jolan neighborhood of Fallujah as an independent Iraqi unit is reported to have taken control of the area (see map in this post). Iraqi Security Forces are active elsewhere, including operations in Baghdad.
The Ministry of the Interior’s 3rd Police Commando Battalion conducted a cordon-and-search sweep operation through Baghdad’s Amiriyya district today with the Iraqi National Guard’s 303rd Battalion and multinational force elements, seizing weapons and explosives in the home-to-home searches.
Tadek Markowski, an embedded reporter in Fallujah, states a radio interview that the Iraqi forces are performing well, committed to the fight and gaining battlefield experiences in their fights over the past six months. Most importantly, the Iraqi Army appears to be developing a core of NCOs (non commissioned officers), the backbone of successful armies.
HAMISH ROBERTSON: Now the record of the newly trained Iraqi troops over the last 12 months has not been a good one, but these troops apparently have been given fairly intensive training. Do you know how they’ve been acquitting themselves?
TADEK MARKOWSKI: From what I’m hearing, they’ve been acquitting themselves rather well. I mean, 12 months ago they weren’t the same outfit really. 12 months ago they were raw recruits who were probably just hoping to get a pay check at the end of the week and then spend the weekends with their families. This time around, they know that things are a bit more serious than that – that the Americans just aren’t a cash cow.
They’re here to fight and they have fought in Samarra, in Najaf and now in Fallujah and those previous encounters have hardened them somewhat, given them a bit of experience under fire and they know what to expect now. And the number of troops that are running away or not turning up for the fight has decreased somewhat.
So they tend to be they’re developing also that NCO (non commissioned officer) regime within these ranks where it didn’t exist before. So they seem to be tightening up as a fighting unit and doing quite well by all accounts.
The development of the Iraqi Army, National Guard, police and security forces are crucial to success in Iraq. We can continue to smash insurgent strongholds such as Fallujah, but unless the Iraqis can maintain order, the cities and towns of the Sunni Triangle will be susceptible to falling back into chaos. The performance of the Iraqi Security Forces over the past few months gives hope that they have turned the corner and are emerging as an effective fighting force. If Belmont Club’s prediction in The River War of a sustained operation to destroy the insurgency throughout the Sunni Triangle is correct (and I think it is), these Iraqi forces will be in need over the next sixty days.
7 Comments
Iraqi units in the Battle of Falluja
Bill at
Glad you mentioned the development of a non-commissioned officer corp. If the Iraqi Army is successful in building up a base of seasoned NCOs, they’ll be second only to Israel as a fighting force in the Middle East. I had the chance to see Arab forces in action when I was an observer-controller (OC) during Bright Star 2001 (in Egypt). I was very unimpressed by what I saw. I think countries like S.A., Jordan, and Egypt would benefit greatly by developing more professional NCOs. Sounds like we’re getting Iraq off to a good start with its new army.
Fallujah Update
The belittle to contain the terrorists in Fallujah goes on. Here are the best places for current updates: The Fourth Rail: Retooling The Belmont Club: River War, and River War 2 The Command Post: Resistance Still Co-Ordinated, but Not Strong…
Tom F,
My understanding from limited reading on the subject is that the Arab armies typically focus their leadership on the officer corps, not the NCOs. I think that this is crucial in understanding why the Iraqi Army was dissolved after OIF. Since most of the officers, if not all, were Ba’athists and there was no real leadership from a professional NCO corps, it may have been unwise to trust them with the security. Perhaps there may have been ways around this, but I can’t think of any.
Reports of body counts, number of missles fired, or even names of communities in a city that have been taken give readers no idea of how Iraq is making its transition from oppressed totalitarian state, through a helpless, conquered collection of ethnic groups, toward a self-sustaining, free nation. With the exception of the maps and troop positions on this site, until today, I have heard nothing about this major battle other than some individual and unconnected statistics.
How this battle is being waged is a worrisome topic for some of us. The people in that region of the world, Iraq, have several times in their history been world leaders, even world conquerors. Wouldn’t it be nice if this time they were on our side?
Today’s Fourth Rail post clarified the struggle in easy terms that a non-news-junkie like myself can understand and appreciate. It also did wonders for my concerns about our country’s future struggles. GREAT JOB! Thanks.
Special Report: The Battle of Fallujah (v3.0)
There’s a very significant battle going on in Fallujah right now. Here’s a power-packed briefing to help you keep track of what’s going on as things develop, and give you the background to understand the whys and hows as well as the what.
Bill–you’re correct, the Arab countries seem to go by the old Soviet model whereby junior officers have many NCO duties as well.