Combat· Iraq War (Op IRAQI FREEDOM)
Battle of Najaf
The Battle of Najaf was an intense urban fight in the holy Shia city in August 2004, when the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit was committed to quell an uprising by Muqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army militia.
Diverted from its expected role as a reserve, the Marine battalion landing team found itself in some of the most ferocious combat the Corps had seen in Iraq, fighting in the searing heat through the city, the vast Wadi al-Salam cemetery, and the approaches to the revered Imam Ali shrine against a fanatical and well-armed enemy. The Marines, reinforced by Army and Iraqi units, battled under tightly restrictive rules of engagement meant to protect the sacred sites, a constraint that recalled the difficulties of Vietnam and cost Marine lives. The fighting ended through a negotiated settlement brokered by religious authorities. Najaf demonstrated the Marines' ability to wage hard urban combat amid extraordinary political and religious sensitivities.
Record no. 37