Key Facts
- Start date
- 27 September 2006
- Iraqi army troops deployed
- 2,300
- British soldiers deployed
- 1,000
- Reserve force nearby
- ~2,000 additional troops
- Lead force
- Iraqi Security Forces
Strategic Narrative Overview
The operation launched in the early hours of 27 September 2006, with approximately 2,300 Iraqi army troops taking the lead role and around 1,000 British soldiers providing direct support, backed by Danish and other multinational forces. A further 2,000 troops were held in close proximity as a reserve. Units moved through Basra, conducting cordon-and-search operations targeting corrupt police officers and offering reconstruction assistance to local residents.
01 / The Origins
By 2006, Basra's police forces had become deeply infiltrated by militia and criminal elements, undermining security in southern Iraq. The Multi-National Force Iraq, led primarily by British troops, determined that corrupt policing was a central obstacle to stability. Operation Sinbad was conceived as a joint Iraqi-led effort to cleanse the police, restore public confidence, and lay the groundwork for transferring full security control of Basra to the Iraqi government.
03 / The Outcome
Operation Sinbad concluded in early 2007. While it succeeded in removing some corrupt officers and improving infrastructure in targeted areas, militia influence in the Basra police proved difficult to eradicate fully. The operation nonetheless advanced the conditions necessary for a formal handover of Basra province to Iraqi security control, which British forces subsequently carried out as part of their drawdown from southern Iraq.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
3 belligerents
Side B
1 belligerent