Battle of Donkey Island

Battle of Donkey Island
	Part of the Iraq War
Date	30 June – 1 July 2007
Location	Ramadi, Iraq
Result	US Victory
Belligerents
United States	Islamic State of Iraq
Units involved
1-77 Armor Regiment; 2nd Battalion 5th Marines	1-149 Aviation Battalion
Strength
30–50 soldiers	40–70 fighters
Casualties and losses
2 killed, 11 wounded	32 killed

The Battle of Donkey Island was a skirmish that occurred on 30 June and 1 July 2007 between elements of the U.S. Army Task Force 1-77 Armor Regiment, the 2nd Battalion 5th Marines and a numerically superior force of Islamic State of Iraq insurgents on the banks of a canal leading from Ramadi to Lake Habbaniyah in the Al Anbar province of Iraq.^[1]^[2]

Official reports of the clash indicate that the U.S. force suffered 2 soldiers dead and 11 wounded, while an estimated 32 insurgents were killed (out of an estimated force of 40–70 fighters). From a military perspective, the battle was a complete victory for the U.S. forces, which detected and defeated an insurgent force before it could launch a planned assault on Ramadi. From a political perspective, the action revealed the continuing ability of Islamic State of Iraq to plan and assemble forces in their attempt to destabilize the Anbar region.

Battle

On the night of 30 June 2007, a routine patrol on the outskirts of Ramadi revealed the presence of a company-sized element of insurgent forces. Partially hidden behind two trucks, the insurgents began firing on the reconnaissance group, forcing them to retreat to nearby cover and calling for backup forces.

A platoon-sized element arrived a short while later to reinforce the American patrol. Although outnumbered, the U.S. force brought superior firepower to bear and eventually began to shift the tide of battle. With continuing ground fire, and later with air support, the American troops killed more than 30 insurgents and managed to destroy their two trucks carrying large quantities of weapons and ammunition before calm took over early in the morning.

On 1 July, the insurgent fighters resumed the battle by ambushing elements of the U.S. Army, resulting in a quick firefight which ended the battle.

In the following days, follow-up missions were conducted by the U.S. Army and the U.S. Marines on both sides of the canal to ensure all insurgent forces were eliminated.

Insurgency

On February 13, 2007 around 23 men of the Army of the Men of the Naqshbandi Order seized a couple of villages in and around Ramadi, acting as a government they claimed that they have around 500 soldiers in Ramadi alone, and told remaining Iraqi forces that if they don't retreat from Ramadi, a battle of bloodshed will be fought. The remaining Iraqi forces in Ramadi hunted down the "hundreds" of soldiers only to find it was just one group of clandestine Tikritis, all of whom were arrested on February 15, 2007 only two days later.

References

^ Ann Scott Tyson (2007-08-20). "A Deadly Clash at Donkey Island". Washington Post. Retrieved 2007-08-20.
^ Ullrich Fichtner (2007-08-10). "Hope and Despair in Divided Iraq". Spiegel Online. Retrieved 2007-08-20.