2008 al-Qaeda offensive in Iraq

Part of the Post-invasion Iraq

Date	15 April 2008 – 19 May 2008
Location	Iraq
Result	Indecisive

Belligerents

United States Army

New Iraqi Army

al-Qaeda in Iraq

Commanders and leaders

Gen. David Petraeus

Ayyub al-Masri

Strength

Coalition
177,000
Contractors
182,000
Iraqi Security Forces
407,000 (180,000 Army and 227,000 Police)
Awakening Council militias
65,000-80,000

850 – 1,000+

Casualties and losses

100+ soldiers, policemen and militiamen killed

Dozens of fighters and suicide bombers killed

250+ civilians killed

The 2008 al-Qaeda offensive in Iraq was a month-long offensive conducted by al-Qaeda in Iraq against the multinational coalition of USA, UK, Australia and Poland.

On 19 April 2008, the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq, Ayyub al-Masri, called for a month-long offensive against U.S. and Iraqi forces. However, the offensive is generally considered to have started four days earlier, when a series of suicide bombings in four major cities killed nearly 60 people.

Shortly after al-Masri's announcement a steady bombing campaign commenced against coalition forces. The series of bombings raised fears that remaining Sunni insurgents, who were still fighting the central government, were regrouping following their major defeat during Operation Phantom Phoenix earlier that year, that left them with only one mayor urban stronghold in the north, in Mosul.

The offensive ended after a month with no clear gains for either side.

15 April 2008: In Baquba, as many as 53 people were killed and at least 70 more were wounded during a car bombing near the courthouse. A suicide bomber killed 13 people and injured 20 more outside a kebab restaurant in Ramadi. Five policemen were killed and four more were wounded during a suicide bombing at a checkpoint in the Hamidhiya area of Ramadi. In Mosul, a double car bombing killed three people and wounded at least 16 people. In Baghdad, a car bomb targeting a police patrol killed four people and wounded 15 in a central neighborhood.

17 April 2008: Near Tuz Khormato in the village of al-Bu Mohammed, at least 50 people were killed and 55 more were wounded when a suicide bomber blew up his explosives at a funeral for two U.S.-allied militia members killed a day earlier. The older bomber was dressed in traditional garb and allowed to enter the funeral freely.

18 April 2008: A suicide bomber attacked a U.S. military patrol near Tikrit killing one soldier.

21 April 2008: A female suicide bomber attacked a U.S.-allied militia post, killing four people and wounding five others in Baquba.

22 April 2008: A suicide car bomber at a checkpoint near Ramadi killed two U.S. Marines and wounded three more. Two policemen and 24 civilians were also wounded. A second car bombing, this one at a police station in the city, wounded 20 people, including women and policemen. In Jalawla, a female suicide bomber killed eight people and wounded 17 at a police station.

23 April 2008: A coordinated attack in Mosul left four dead and nine injured. First, a suicide bomber detonated his vest. When first responders arrived a car bomb blasted them.

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Wikipedia