Operation Ivy Blizzard, occurred on 17 December 2003, during the 2003 invasion of Iraq was a

counterinsurgent Counterinsurgency (COIN) is "the totality of actions aimed at defeating irregular forces". The Oxford English Dictionary defines counterinsurgency as any "military or political action taken against the activities of guerrillas or revolutionari ...

sweep of the

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

i town of

Samarra Samarra ( ar, سَامَرَّاء, ') is a city in Iraq. It stands on the east bank of the Tigris in the Saladin Governorate, north of Baghdad. The city of Samarra was founded by Abbasid Caliph Al-Mutasim for his Turkish professional ar ...

(part of the

Sunni Triangle The Sunni Triangle is a densely populated region of Iraq to the north and west of Baghdad inhabited mostly by Sunni Muslim Arabs. The roughly triangular area's points are usually said to lie near Baghdad (the southeast point), Ramadi (the southw ...

). The operation involved elements of the

U.S. 4th Infantry Division The 4th Infantry Division is a division of the United States Army based at Fort Carson, Colorado. It is composed of a division headquarters battalion, three brigade combat teams (two Stryker and one armor), a combat aviation brigade, a divis ...

(the 'Ivy' Division) and began before

dawn Dawn is the time that marks the beginning of twilight before sunrise. It is recognized by the appearance of indirect sunlight being scattered in Earth's atmosphere, when the centre of the Sun's disc has reached 18° below the observer's ho ...

, lasting to about mid-morning. The raids during the operation resulted in many arrests of believed guerrilla fighters and suspected

terrorists Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...

Operation details

The 4th Infantry Division and

Task Force Ironhorse The 45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team ("Thunderbird") is a modular infantry brigade combat team of the United States Army headquartered in Norman, Oklahoma. It is a part of the Oklahoma Army National Guard. The 45th Infantry Brigade was formed ...

initiated Operation Ivy Blizzard, a joint operation with Iraqi security forces within

at the request of local leadership, according to

U.S. Central Command The United States Central Command (USCENTCOM or CENTCOM) is one of the eleven unified combatant commands of the U.S. Department of Defense. It was established in 1983, taking over the previous responsibilities of the Rapid Deployment Joint T ...

officials. The operation is a combined effort to target, isolate and eliminate former regime elements and other anti-Coalition cells that continue to try to destabilize Iraq and intimidate innocent Iraqi citizens who choose freedom over tyranny.

Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein ( ; ar, صدام حسين, Ṣaddām Ḥusayn; 28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003. A leading member of the revolution ...

's capture is one of the most significant events in Iraq's progress as the country continues to advance towards realizing its potential. However, there are still those who would deny Iraq this opportunity. Operation Ivy Blizzard will target those former regime elements that held power for decades at the expense of Iraq's future. Another goal of the operation is for Task Force Ironhorse to engage the Samarran community leadership, identify infrastructure repair priorities, and fund projects to improve quality of life, stimulate economic growth and further strengthen and empower the local government. Operation Ivy Blizzard is a comprehensive, coordinated and offensive regiment of isolation of insurgents and extremists. The purpose of this objective is to deny anti-Coalition elements freedom of movement, communication and organization while providing innocent citizens a stable environment free from reprisals and indiscriminate violence of former regime loyalists. Swift, decisive action will be taken against those who flagrantly disregard the rule of law and commit crimes against the Coalition and their fellow Iraqis. Additional phases of the operation include recruiting and training

Iraqi Civil Defense Corps The Iraqi Civil Defense Corps was an Iraqi armed formation created by the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) which existed in 2003–2004. The ICDC was controlled by Combined Joint Task Force 7. The idea originated from the 101st Airborne Divisi ...

soldiers and local police, and empowering Iraqi governmental leadership in their efforts to successfully transition to a free and democratic society. Ivy Blizzard was launched just days after

Operation Red Dawn Saddam Hussein, the deposed president of Iraq, was captured by the United States military forces in the town of Ad-Dawr, Iraq on 13 December 2003. Codenamed Operation Red Dawn, this military operation was named after the 1984 American film '' R ...

, which resulted in the capture of

, which has led some to believe that information that led to Operation Ivy Blizzard may have been obtained from Saddam.

Participating units

American units

* 244th Engineer Battalion * 720th MP Battalion

Iraqi units

Iraqi security forces The Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) is a term used by the United States Department of Defense (DoD) to describe law enforcement and military forces of the federal government of the Republic of Iraq. During the Iraq War, these entities received trainin ...

Casualties

United States casualties of war The following is a tabulation of United States military casualties of war. Overview Note: "Total casualties" includes wounded, combat and non-combat deaths but not missing in action. "Deaths – other" includes all non-combat deaths including thos ...

Post-traumatic stress disorder Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental and behavioral disorder that can develop because of exposure to a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, warfare, traffic collisions, child abuse, domestic violence, or other threats on a ...

Iraq Body Count project Iraq Body Count project (IBC) is a web-based effort to record civilian deaths resulting from the US-led 2003 invasion of Iraq. Included are deaths attributable to coalition and insurgent military action, sectarian violence and criminal violenc ...

Violence against academics in post-invasion Iraq Since the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Iraqi academics have frequently been threatened with violence, kidnapped, or murdered. Although it is impossible to determine the exact scale of the violence and intimidation, the Iraqi Ministry of Higher Education ...

External links

Central Command Press Release
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ivy Blizzard Military operations of the Iraq War involving the United States Military operations of the Iraq War involving Iraq Military operations of the Iraq War in 2003 Iraqi insurgency (2003–2011) Conflicts in 2003

Operation details

Participating units

American units

Iraqi units

See also

War related articles

Iraq related articles

Terrorism, bombings and insurgency

Casualties

External links