Fallujah during the Iraq War
On the evening of April 28, 2003, several hundred residents defied the US curfew and marched down the streets of Fallujah, past the soldiers positioned in the former Ba'ath party headquarters, to protest the military presence inside the local school.[citation needed] During the summer, the US Army decided to close down its last remaining base inside the city (the Ba'ath party headquarters; FOB Laurie).After the May 11 disarmament of the Mujahedin-e-Khalq and subsequent protected persons assignment under the Fourth Geneva Convention,[9] the incoming 3rd Infantry Division also began using the large MEK compound adjacent to Dreamland to accommodate its larger troop presence in Fallujah.[14] The four contractors, Scott Helvenston, Jerko Zovko, Wesley Batalona and Michael Teague, were dragged from their cars, beaten, and set ablaze.[16] The Iraqi National Guard was supposed to work alongside the US Marines in the operation, but on the dawn of the invasion they discarded their uniforms and deserted.U.S. forces reported that all were confirmed targeted, intelligence-based strikes against houses used by the group of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, an insurgency leader linked to al-Qaida.In October and early November 2004, the U.S. military prepared for a major offensive against the rebel stronghold with stepped up daily aerial attacks using precision-guided munitions[25] against militant "safe houses," restaurants and meeting places in the city.The Los Angeles Times reported on December 1, 2004, that, according to several unnamed Pentagon officials, the Marine's announcement was a feint—part of an elaborate "psychological operation" (PSYOP) to determine the Fallujah rebels' reactions if they believed attack was imminent.In the first week of Operation Phantom Fury, government spokesman Thair al-Naqeeb said that many of the remaining fighters have asked to surrender and that Iraqi authorities "will extend amnesty" to those who have not committed major crimes.[27] At the same time, US forces prevented male refugees from leaving the combat zone, and the city was placed under a strict night-time shoot-to-kill curfew with anyone spotted in the Marines' night vision sights shot.In a statement, Maj. Gen. Richard F. Natonski, commanding general of the I Marine Expeditionary Force, said that a review of the evidence had shown that the shooting was "consistent with the established rules of engagement and the law of armed conflict."[41] On 17 May 2011, AFP reported that 21 bodies, in black body-bags marked with letters and numbers in Roman script had been recovered from a mass grave in al-Maadhidi cemetery in the centre of the city.Fallujah police chief Brigadier General Mahmud al-Essawi said that they had been blindfolded, their legs had been tied and they had suffered gunshot wounds.According to Mike Marqusee of Iraq Occupation Focus writing in The Guardian,[50] "Falluja's compensation commissioner has reported that 36,000 of the city's 50,000 homes were destroyed, along with 60 schools and 65 mosques and shrines".Reconstruction is only progressing slowly and mainly consists of clearing rubble from heavily damaged areas and reestablishing basic utility services.[51] Research by Chris Busby, Malak Hamdan and Entesar Ariabi published in 2010 lent credibility to anecdotal news reports of increases in birth defects and cancer after the fighting in 2004.Responses to the questionnaire also suggested an anomalous mean birth sex ratio in children born a year after the fighting, indicating that environmental contamination occurred in 2004.
FallujahUnited Statesinvasion of IraqUnited States forces fired on a group of demonstratorsSaddam HusseinlootingTaha Bidaywi HamedU.S. Army82nd AirborneBa'ath PartyDreamlandFallujah killings of April 2003curfewmilitary presence inside the local schoolU.S. 3rd Armored Cavalry RegimentAl Anbar3rd Infantry DivisionFourth Geneva ConventionMEK compoundmosqueRamadiIraqi policeCharles H. Swannack Jr.I Marine Expeditionary ForceLt. General Conway2004 Fallujah ambushIraqi insurgentsprivate military contractorsBlackwater USAEurest Support ServicesAhmad Hashim Abd al-IsawiScott HelvenstonbridgeEuphratesFirst Battle of FallujahUS MarinesOperation Vigilant ResolveIraqi National GuardIraqi Governing CouncilhumanitarianGeneva ConventionKellogg, Brown and RootMuhammed LatifJasim Mohammed SalehIran–Iraq WarAhmed ChalabiIzzadine Saleemcar bombsWesternAbu Musab al-Zarqawial-Qaidaprecision-guided munitionsLos Angeles TimesIraq interim governmentstate of emergencyIyad AllawiterroristsOperation Phantom Furynight visionSecond Battle of FallujahNoam ChomskyThe Washington Postwhite phosphorusfriendly fireThe IndependentRed Crescent3rd Battalion, 1st MarinesInter Press Servicebody-bagsRoman scriptbiometricID cardsMike MarquseeThe GuardianshrinesChris Busbycancerinfant mortalitysex ratiodepleted uraniumIslamic State in Iraq and SyriaThe Christian Science MonitorFallujah was retaken by Iraqi forces3 month long siegeHuman rights in post-Saddam Hussein IraqMark 77 bombWhite phosphorus use in IraqIraqi insurgencyBattle of Fallujah (2016)Ramadi under U.S. military occupationUnited States ArmyOperation Spartan ScorpionU.S. MarineAmerican SniperFallujah, The Hidden MassacreWayback MachineBing WestHarrison FordDelta FarceTara SuttonHouse to HouseAsia TimesChannel 4BBC NewsThe Washington TimesHannah AllamKnight RidderUnited States Marine CorpsIraq WarIraqi conflictPrelude17 July RevolutionIranian Revolution1979 Ba'ath Party PurgeBritishU.S. support for IraqChemical attacks against IranAnfal campaignIran–Contra affairGulf WarInvasion of KuwaitNayirah testimonySanctions against IraqNo-fly zones1991 uprisingsUNSCOM