2008 Al-Qaeda offensive in Iraq

Infobox Military Conflict
conflict=2008 Al-Qaeda offensive in Iraq
partof=the Post-invasion Iraq


caption=
date=April 15, 2008 - May 19, 2008
place=Iraq
result=Indecisive
combatant1= flagicon|United States United States Army

combatant2=
commander1= flagicon|United States Gen. David Petraeus
commander2=
strength1=Coalition
177,000
Contractors
182,000 [http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-na-private4jul04,0,5419234,full.story "Private contractors outnumber U.S. troops in Iraq"] . By T. Christian Miller. "Los Angeles Times." July 4, 2007.] [http://www.deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,660198347,00.html "Contractor deaths add up in Iraq"] . By Michelle Roberts. "Deseret Morning News." Feb. 24, 2007.]
Iraqi Security Forces
407,000 (180,000 Army and 227,000 Police) [Collins, C. (August 19, 2007) [http://www.mcclatchydc.com/iraq/story/19049.html "U.S. says Iranians train Iraqi insurgents,"] "McClatchy Newspapers"]
Awakening Council militias
65,000-80,000 [ [http://www.military.com/NewsContent/0,13319,159357,00.html A Dark Side to Iraq 'Awakening' Groups ] ]
strength2=850Tilghman, A. (October, 2007) [http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2007/0710.tilghman.html "The Myth of AQI"] "Washington Monthly"] – 1,000+" [http://www.globalsecurity.org/security/profiles/al-qaeda_in_iraq.htm Al-Qaeda in Iraq] ", GlobalSecurity.org (U.S. State Department, 'Country Reports on Terrorism', 2005).]
casualties1=100+ soldiers, policemen and militiamen killed
casualties2=Dozens of fighters and suicide bombers killed
casualties3=250+ civilians killed

The 2008 Al-Qaeda offensive in Iraq refers to a month-long offensive conducted by Al-Qaeda in Iraq against Coalition troops in Iraq in 2008. [ [http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2008/04/19/al-qaeda-audiotape.html?ref=rss Al-Qaeda in Iraq calls for one-month offensive ] ]

The offensive officially started on April 19, 2008, when the leader of Al-Qaeda in Iraq, Ayyub al-Masri, called for a month-long offensive against U.S. and Iraqi forces. However, it is generally consideredFact|date=May 2008 to have started four days earlier when a series of suicide bombings in four major cities killed nearly 60 people.

Shortly following al-Masri's announcement a steady bombing campaign commenced against Coalition forces. The series of bombings raised fears that remaining Sunni insurgents, that were still fighting the central government, were regrouping following their major defeat during Operation Phantom Phoenix earlier that year that left them with only one mayor urban stronghold in the north, in Mosul.

The offensive ended after a month with no clear gains for either side.

Timeline of major attacks during the offensive

April 15 2008: In Baquba, as many as 53 people were killed and at least 70 more were wounded during a car bombing near the courthouse. [http://wiredispatch.com/news/?id=128663 FACTBOX-Security developments in Iraq, April 15 ] ] A suicide bomber killed 13 people and injured 20 more outside a kebab restaurant in Ramadi. [ [http://wiredispatch.com/news/?id=129453 Bombings kill nearly 60 in Sunni areas of Iraq ] ] Five policemen were killed and four more were wounded during a suicide bombing at a checkpoint in the Hamidhiya area of Ramadi. [ [http://www.aswataliraq.info/look/english/article.tpl?IdLanguage=1&IdPublication=4&NrArticle=76435&NrIssue=2&NrSection=1 Aswat Aliraq ] ] In Mosul, a double car bombing killed three people and wounded at least 16 people. [ [http://www.aswataliraq.info/look/english/article.tpl?IdLanguage=1&IdPublication=4&NrArticle=76503&NrIssue=2&NrSection=1 Aswat Aliraq ] ] In Baghdad, a car bomb targeting a police patrol killed four people and wounded 15 in a central neighborhood.

April 17 2008: Near Tuz Khormato in the village of al-Bu Mohammed, at least 50 people were killed and 55 more were wounded when a suicide bomber blew up his explosives at a funeral for two U.S.-allied militia members killed a day earlier. The older bomber was dressed in traditional garb and allowed to enter the funeral freely. [ [http://wiredispatch.com/news/?id=132210 IRAQ WRAPUP 6-Suicide bomber kills 50 at Iraq funeral ] ]

April 18 2008: A suicide bomber attacked a U.S. military patrol near Tikrit killing one soldier. [ [http://www.mnf-iraq.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=18576&Itemid=21 Multi-National Force - Iraq - MND-N Soldier attacked in Salah ad Din ] ]

April 21 2008: A female suicide bomber attacked a U.S.-allied militia post, killing four people and wounding five others in Baquba. [ [http://wiredispatch.com/news/?id=136791 IRAQ WRAPUP 2-Iraq to confront militias after Sadr threat ] ]

April 22 2008: A suicide car bomber at a checkpoint near Ramadi killed two U.S. Marines and wounded three more. Two policemen and 24 civilians were also wounded. A second car bombing, this one at a police station in the city, wounded 20 people, including women and policemen. [ [http://www.mnf-iraq.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=18678&Itemid=21 Multi-National Force - Iraq - Marines attacked by SVBIED near Ramadi ] ] In Jalawla, a female suicide bomber killed eight people and wounded 17 at a police station. [ [http://wiredispatch.com/news/?id=138538 FACTBOX-Security developments in Iraq, April 22 ] ]

April 23 2008: A coordinated attack in Mosul left four dead and nine injured. First, a suicide bomber detonated his vest. When first responders arrived a car bomb blasted them. [ [http://wiredispatch.com/news/?id=139952 FACTBOX-Security developments in Iraq, April 23 ] ]

April 25 2008: A series of bombings hit Mosul. Six people were killed, including two policemen, and five others were wounded during a suicide car bombing. Another suicide car bomber killed three and wounded six at an Iraqi army checkpoint. A suicide fuel truck bomber wounded 40 at an Iraqi army base. A car bomb in the Danadan neighborhood wounded three people. [ [http://wiredispatch.com/news/?id=144171 FACTBOX-Security developments in Iraq, April 26 ] ] [ [http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/04/26/iraq.main/ Suicide bombers, explosions rock Iraq - CNN.com ] ]

April 27 2008: Another suicide bombing was conducted in Mosul which left four policemen dead. [ [http://www.aswataliraq.info/look/english/article.tpl?IdLanguage=1&IdPublication=4&NrArticle=77571&NrIssue=2&NrSection=1 Aswat Aliraq ] ]

April 29 2008: A female suicide bomber killed two U.S.-allied militiamen and wounded ten others in Baquba. [http://www.aswataliraq.info/look/english/article.tpl?IdLanguage=1&IdPublication=4&NrArticle=77721&NrIssue=2&NrSection=1 Aswat Aliraq ] ] Meanwhile another female suicide bomber in al-Saldiya killed one person and injured five people, including the district chief.

April 30 2008: A U.S. soldier was killed in an explosion near Mosul. [http://icasualties.org/oif/pdf/20080501-01-MND-N-MND-N.pdf]

May 1 2008: A female suicide bomber killed 45 people and wounded 76 others in Balad Ruz. After the bomber struck a wedding convoy, another suicide bomber targeted the first responders who arrived on the scene. [ [http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/05/01/iraq.main/index.html Iraqi lawmakers confront Iran with 'evidence' of militia backing - CNN.com ] ] A car bomb targeting a U.S. patrol killed ten and wounded 26 others near Camp Sara in Baghdad, one U.S. soldier was among the dead and three American soldiers were wounded. [ [http://wiredispatch.com/news/?id=150334 Police: Car bomb kills at least 9 in Baghdad ] ]

May 2 2008: Insurgents infiltrated across the Syrian border into Al Anbar province and rounded up and beheaded 11 policemen, along with a son of one of them, from the al-Rimana police station in the area of the border city of Al-Qaim. [ [http://antiwar.com/updates/?articleid=12814 Friday: 52 Iraqis Killed, 157 Wounded - Antiwar.com ] ] Four U.S. Marines were killed when their vehicle drove over an IED in al-Anbar province. [ [http://wiredispatch.com/news/?id=153918 Four U.S. Marines killed in Iraq ] ] Also, two Georgian soldiers were killed by a roadside bomb in Diyala province. [ [http://wiredispatch.com/news/?id=153553 Georgia says two soldiers killed in Iraq ] ]

May 5 2008: Insurgents attacked an Iraqi Army checkpoint in Balad Ruz killing 10 Iraqi soldiers and wounding 13. [ [http://wiredispatch.com/news/?id=155659 Ten Iraqi soldiers slain in checkpoint attack ] ]

May 13 2008: A roadside bomb in Mosul killed five Iraqi soldiers.

May 14 2008: A suicide bomber attacked a Sunni funeral west of Baghdad killing 22 people. A teenage girl, who was strapped with an explosive belt, blew up near Yusifiyah, targeting an Iraqi Army patrol, leaving an Iraqi Army captain dead and seven other soldiers wounded. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7401634.stm BBC NEWS | Middle East | Bombing at Iraq funeral kills 20 ] ]

May 16 2008: A suicide car bomber attacked a Fallujah police station. Four policemen were killed and nine others were wounded. [ [http://wiredispatch.com/news/?id=171961 FACTBOX-Security developments in Iraq, May 16 ] ]

May 18 2008: A car bomb hit an Iraqi Army patrol in the Zayouna district of Baghdad killing two soldiers and wounding four others.

May 19 2008: In the town of Baaj, 130 kilometers from Mosul, gunmen ambushed a bus carrying police recruits killing 11 of them. [ [http://antiwar.com/updates/?articleid=12861 Monday: 29 Iraqis Killed, 39 Wounded - Antiwar.com ] ]

References