Battle of Debecka Pass

Part of 2003 Invasion of Iraq

Date	6–7 April 2003
Location	Between Mosul and Kirkuk, Iraq 35°53'3.35"N - 43°47'1.55"E
Result	American and Peshmerga victory

Belligerents

United States

Peshmerga

Iraq

Strength

26 U.S. Special Forces Operators
3 Air Force Combat Controllers
2 Military Intelligence Operators
about 150 Kurdish fighters

A motorized company (about 100 soldiers)

Casualties and losses

U.S.: 4 wounded
Peshmerga: 18 killed and 45 wounded (friendly fire)

2 T-55 tanks, 8 armoured personnel carriers, 4 troop trucks, unknown number of soldiers killed, 20 captured

The Battle of Debecka Pass (Dibagah, Dibege, دیبه‌گه) on 6–7 April 2003, sometimes known as the Battle of Debecka Ridge or Debecka Crossroads, or otherwise referred to as the Alamo of the Iraq War, was a successful operation launched by U.S. Special Forces to secure a major crossroads near the village of Debecka (Dibege, دیبه‌گه in Kurdish), between Mosul and Kirkuk in northern Iraq. It was notable for its use of the Raytheon/Lockheed-Martin Javelin anti-tank missile. The weapon demonstrated how lethal and crucial technology can be in determining the outcome of a battle. The light unarmored SOF and Peshmerga (KDP) force faced a mechanized force of Iraqi infantry and tanks. The numerically inferior US and KPD force was able to defeat the Iraqi mechanized infantry & tank force with combined air-to-ground strikes, superior maneuvering, and the use of the Javelin missiles.

The 26 United States Army Special Forces Green Berets were divided into two A-teams; ODA 391 and ODA 392, from the 3rd SFG, were equipped with GMVs (Ground Mobility Vehicles)-modified Humvees with 50 caliber HMGs and Mark 19 Grenade launchers that could travel a thousand miles without resupply. the ODAs conducted battle training in Fort Bragg, North Carolina and Fort Pickett, Virginia between October and December 2002, On March 8 2003, the ODAs flew from Pope Air Force Base to Romania and on 26 March 2003 they infiltrated northern Iraq via a MC-130 Combat Talon landing at Al-Sulaymaniya, some 60 miles east of Kirkuk. In their first few days in Iraq they participated in Operation Viking Hammer and then on April 1 2003, they moved to Irbil and onto a staging area where they linked up with ODA 044, 10th SFG and their Peshmerga allies. On April 4 2003, they were given a new mission, code-named Northern Safari.

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Wikipedia