Combat· Iraq War (Op IRAQI FREEDOM)
Battle of Husaybah
Husaybah was a contested border town in the Al Qaim district at the western end of Anbar, a key crossing point on the Syrian frontier that insurgents and foreign-fighter networks used as a gateway into Iraq.
The Marines fought repeatedly to wrest control of the town from al-Qaeda in Iraq, which had entrenched itself among the population and turned the place into a stronghold guarding the infiltration routes. The fighting in and around Husaybah formed part of the larger struggle for the western Euphrates valley, the Marines battling to clear the town and choke off the flow of fighters and weapons across the border. Securing Husaybah was essential to the broader effort to seal the frontier and break the insurgent supply line into Anbar. The contest for the town was emblematic of the grinding border fight, where control of a single crossing carried weight far beyond its size.
Record no. 34