Combat· Iraq War (Op IRAQI FREEDOM)
Operation Hunter
Operation Hunter was a Marine operation in the western Euphrates valley of Anbar Province, part of the ongoing 2005 campaign to disrupt and clear the insurgent and foreign-fighter networks operating along the river toward the Syrian border.
The Marines conducted sweeps and clearing actions through the contested towns and corridors, pressing al-Qaeda in Iraq forces in the region and seeking to interdict the flow of fighters and weapons into Iraq. Hunter belonged to the extended series of operations by which the Marines maintained pressure on the western Euphrates in the months between the second battle of Fallujah and the decisive Al Qaim campaign. Like its companion operations, it struck at the enemy's presence in the river valley while underscoring the difficulty of holding cleared ground without a permanent presence. The operation was one of the building blocks of the cumulative effort that finally led to the sustained clearing of the western border region.
Record no. 770