Combat· Iraq War (Op IRAQI FREEDOM)
Jolan Souk
The Jolan district and its souk, or marketplace, formed one of the toughest sectors of Fallujah in the Second Battle, an old quarter of dense, narrow streets and tightly packed buildings in the northwestern part of the city that the insurgents had heavily fortified.
The Marines fighting through the Jolan faced some of the hardest urban combat of the battle, clearing the labyrinth of the old city and its market against entrenched defenders in terrain that favored the defense. The close confines of the souk and surrounding streets made for slow, dangerous work, the Marines reducing strongpoints and clearing buildings one at a time through the ancient quarter. The fight for the Jolan was among the climactic struggles of the battle, the clearance of one of the insurgency's most defended bastions within the city. Securing the district was a major step in completing the Coalition's reconquest of Fallujah.
Record no. 758