Key Facts
- Duration
- 3 days
- Iraqi security forces involved
- ~200
- Insurgent force size
- 15–25
- Iraqi casualties (killed/wounded)
- up to 33
- U.S. soldiers injured
- 2
- Bombs dropped by F-16s
- Two 500-lb. bombs
Strategic Narrative Overview
Elements of the 25th Infantry Division's Second Advise and Assist Brigade, along with the 512th Military Police Company, supported approximately 200 Iraqi Army and police personnel during the operation. When ground forces met stiff resistance, commanders called in AH-64 Apache helicopters and U.S. Air Force F-16 fighters, which dropped two 500-pound bombs, though these had little effect on the entrenched insurgents.
01 / The Origins
By 2010, U.S. forces in Iraq were transitioning to an advise-and-assist role as Iraqi security forces were expected to assume independent control of the country. In Diyala Province, insurgents continued planting improvised explosive devices, prompting a joint U.S.-Iraqi search and sweep operation in the village of Hudaidy targeting a group of 15–25 insurgents operating in a palm grove.
03 / The Outcome
After three days of fighting, the insurgent force successfully withdrew without suffering any confirmed casualties. Up to 33 Iraqi security force members were killed or wounded, and two U.S. soldiers were injured. The engagement highlighted Iraqi forces' inability to operate independently, with an Iraqi officer acknowledging that American air and artillery support was indispensable. It was later recognized as the last major U.S.-involved battle of the Iraq War.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Side B
2 belligerents
Kinetic Engagement Axis
Scroll horizontally to view full axis. Events plotted relatively.