Operation Viking Hammer

Last updated
Operation Viking Hammer
Part of Kurdistan Islamist Conflict and 2003 invasion of Iraq
Halabja.jpg
Halabja city
DateMarch 28–30, 2003
Location
Around Halabja, Iraq
Result

American-Peshmerga victory

Belligerents

Flag of the United States.svg  United States
Flag of Kurdistan.svg Peshmerga

Flag of Jihad.svg Islamic Emirate of Byara
Supported by:
Flag of Iran.svg  Iran (alleged by Peshmerga)
Commanders and leaders
Flag of the United States.svg Kenneth E. Tovo [1]
Flag of Kurdistan.svgFlag of PUK.png Jalal Talabani
Flag of Jihad.svg Mullah Krekar
Flag of Ansar al-Islam.svg Abu Abdullah al-Shafi'i

Flag of the Kurdistan Islamic Group.svg Ali Bapir
Units involved
Flag of the United States.svg US Army Special Forces
Flag of the United States.svg CIA SAD
Flag of PUK.png CTG
Flag of Ansar al-Islam.svg Ansar al-Islam
Flag of the Kurdistan Islamic Group.svg Kurdistan Islamic Group [2] [3]
Strength
70 Americans (60 U.S. Army Special Forces members and 10 CIA SAD agents)
7,000 Peshmerga [4]
600–800 fighters [5]
Casualties and losses
Flag of PUK.png 3 killed, 23 wounded [6] Flag of Ansar al-Islam.svg 150–200 killed, remainder captured or fled to Iran [5]
Flag of the Kurdistan Islamic Group.svg 100 killed [7]

Operation Viking Hammer was an unconventional warfare operation during the Iraq War which took place in northern Iraq, commonly known as Iraqi Kurdistan. The goal of the operation was to eliminate Ansar al-Islam and dismantle the Islamic Emirate of Byara. Ansar al-Islam was established by former Al-Qaeda members in 2001 as a Kurdish Salafist movement that imposed a strict application of Sharia in villages it controlled.

Contents

Background

Ansar al-Islam made its first appearance in Iraqi Kurdistan in December 2001. The group was founded by Mullah Krekar and made up of mostly Kurdish veterans of Jihad coming back from Afghanistan. [5] From 2001 to 2003, they fought against US-backed Peshmerga in northern Iraq, and carved out the Islamic Emirate of Byara around the town of Halabja. The CIA also suspected Ansar al-Islam of manufacturing chemical weapons and the poison Ricin in a factory in the town of Sargat. In addition, at least two other militant Kurdish Islamic groups, the Kurdistan Islamic Movement and Kurdistan Justice Group (which later rekindled with the Kurdistan Regional Government) were operating in the region, and these generally aligned themselves with Ansar al-Islam. [3]

After Turkey had denied the U.S. 4th Infantry Division passage through their borders, the burden of carrying out the northern front of the war in Iraq fell on an ad hoc coalition of Americans to include CIA Special Activities Division (SAD) paramilitary operations officers, Special Forces soldiers from 10th SFG, U.S. Army 10th Mountain Division, 2nd Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment and airborne units that parachuted into northern Iraq (however, the 173rd and 10th Mountain played no part in Operation Viking Hammer), and Kurdish Peshmerga forces of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan and Kurdish Democratic Party. [1] The American forces were designated the Northern Iraq Liaison Element. Before beginning the attack south, the coalition forces first needed to destroy Ansar al-Islam's enclave in order to secure the Kurdish rear areas and free Kurdish forces to take part in the advance southwards. [8] [9] [10] [11]

Battle

Ansar al-Islam fighters held a series of mountaintop positions that offered them an advantage and a commanding view of the surrounding areas, but also left them vulnerable to airstrikes. Cruise missile strikes against Ansar al-Islam camp and surrounding positions were launched in the early hours of March 21, a total of 64 Tomahawk cruise missiles were fired as a preparatory barrage. [12] The Americans originally planned to launch a ground attack immediately following the airstrikes, but most American forces were not in place. Once more American troops arrived, the date of the attack was set for March 28. The plan called for four lines of advance for the Peshmerga, with each force accompanied by U.S. Special Forces and CIA paramilitary officers. On the day before the battle, the Kurdistan Islamic Group, led by Ali Bapir, which had been allied with Ansar al-Islam, surrendered after having around 100 of their men killed in the March 21 strikes and being unable to move forward. [1] The ground attack consisted of a six-pronged advance, with each prong was composed of several ODAs from 3rd battalion, 10th SFG and upwards of 1,000 Peshmerga. [13]

The attack from the south on the morning of the 28th was met with heavy fire from the Ansar defenders. Airstrikes were called in and the defenders routed. The Peshmerga and U.S. advisors pursued them and captured the town of Gulp hours ahead of schedule. The majority of the Ansar fighters retreated to the town of Sargat where they made their final stand. [14] Advancing on Sargat, the Peshmerga and Americans were pinned down for three hours by mortar and machine gunfire. Unable to call in airstrikes or contact friendly forces due to the deep valley blocking radio signals, the Special Forces soldiers used a Barrett M82 .50 caliber anti-material sniper rifle to take out Ansar al-Islam machine gun crews while the Peshmerga brought up artillery. The combination of artillery support and accurate long-range sniper fire drove the Ansar al-Islam forces from the town. Pursuing Ansar fighters into the hills, American and Peshmerga forces were again pinned down by machine-gun fire and had to call in more airstrikes before darkness put an end to the day's fighting. [15]

During the night, four AC-130 gunships maintained the pressure on the retreating Ansar al-Islam militants as they pulled back toward the Iranian border. [16] The next day, the Americans and Peshmerga pursued the Ansar al-Islam forces further into the mountains, towards the Iranian border. Many fighters attempted to flee across the border, only to be arrested by the Iranians. Many were sent back across the border and were later captured by Kurdish forces. However, Kurdish sources allege that Iran in fact harbored many Ansar al-Islam fighters. [5]

Aftermath

CTG, CIA, Special Forces Operation VIking Hammer Peshmerga Special Forces and CIA.jpg
CTG, CIA, Special Forces

Operation Viking Hammer had eliminated Ansar al-Islam's presence in northern Iraq, and allowed Kurdish units to join the fight against Iraqi troops in northern Iraq. American intelligence personnel inspected the suspected chemical weapons site in Sargat and discovered traces of Ricin in the ruins, as well as potassium chloride. They also discovered chemical weapon suits, atropine nerve gas antidotes, and manuals on manufacturing chemical weapons, lending credence to the idea that the site was related to the manufacture of chemical weapons and poisons. [17]

In a 2004 U.S. News & World Report article, "A firefight in the mountains", the author states:

"Viking Hammer would go down in the annals of Special Forces history—a battle fought on foot, under sustained fire from an enemy lodged in the mountains, and with minimal artillery and air support." [18]

Seven U.S. Army Special Forces soldiers were awarded the Silver Star for their actions around Sargat and 52 soldiers received the Bronze Stars with valor. [19] Four members of the SAD paramilitary team received CIA's rare Intelligence Star for "extraordinary heroism" in combat. [9] [20]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ansar al-Islam in Kurdistan</span> Salafi jihadist militant group in Iraq and Syria

Ansar al-Islam in Kurdistan, simply called Ansar al-Islam, is a Kurdish Islamist militant and separatist group. It was established in northern Iraq around the Kurdistan Region by Kurdish Islamists who were former Taliban and former Al-Qaeda volunteers, which were coming back from Afghanistan in 2001 after the Fall of Kabul. Its motive is to establish an Islamic state around the Kurdistan region and to protect Kurdish people from other armed insurgent groups. It imposed strict Sharia in villages it controlled around Byara near the Iranian border.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2003 invasion of Iraq</span> United States-led military invasion

The 2003 invasion of Iraq was the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion began on 19 March 2003 and lasted just over one month, including 26 days of major combat operations, in which a United States-led combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded the Republic of Iraq. Twenty-two days after the first day of the invasion, the capital city of Baghdad was captured by coalition forces on 9 April after the six-day-long Battle of Baghdad. This early stage of the war formally ended on 1 May when U.S. President George W. Bush declared the "end of major combat operations" in his Mission Accomplished speech, after which the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) was established as the first of several successive transitional governments leading up to the first Iraqi parliamentary election in January 2005. U.S. military forces later remained in Iraq until the withdrawal in 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peshmerga</span> Military force of Iraqs Kurdistan Region

The Peshmerga comprise the standing military of Kurdistan Region, an autonomous political entity within the Republic of Iraq. According to the Constitution of Iraq, the Peshmerga and their security subsidiaries are solely responsible for the security of Kurdistan Region, chiefly due to the fact that the Iraqi Armed Forces are forbidden to enter Iraqi Kurdistan. These subsidiaries include Asayish, Parastin û Zanyarî, and Zêrevanî. The Peshmerga's history dates back to the 18th century, when they began as a strictly tribal pseudo-military border guard under the Ottoman Turks and the Safavid Iranians. By the 19th century, they had evolved into a disciplined and well-trained guerrilla force.

Events in the year 2002 in Iraq.

The Battle of Debecka Pass 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, 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 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">10th Special Forces Group (United States)</span> US Army Special Forces unit

The 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne) (10th SFG (A), or 10th Group) is an active duty United States Army Special Forces (SF) Group. 10th Group is designed to deploy and execute nine doctrinal missions: unconventional warfare (UW), foreign internal defense (FID), direct action (DA), counterinsurgency, special reconnaissance, counterterrorism, information operations, counter-proliferation of weapon of mass destruction, and security force assistance. 10th Group is responsible for operations within the EUCOM area of responsibility, as part of Special Operations Command Europe (SOCEUR).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Task Force Viking</span>

Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force – North (CJSOTF–N), also known as Task Force Viking, was the U.S. joint task force responsible for the northern front during the initial period of the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq. It secured Kirkuk, Mosul, and the northern oil fields; prevented 13 Iraqi Army divisions from defending Baghdad or reinforcing defensive operations against American and British troops advancing in the south, and thwarted Turkish efforts to subvert Kurdistan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iraqi Kurdistan conflict (2001–2003)</span>

From 2001 to 2003, there was a military conflict in Iraqi Kurdistan between the Islamist militant group Ansar al-Islam and its allies against the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). The conflict began in 2001 as an insurgency, but subsequently merged with the larger 2003 invasion of Iraq after Operation Viking Hammer. After the invasion, Ansar al-Islam moved southwards to participate in the Iraqi insurgency and, after it was quelled, the Syrian civil war.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iraqi–Kurdish conflict</span> Series of wars and rebellions by ethnic Kurds against successive Iraqi administrations

The Iraqi–Kurdish conflict consists of a series of wars, rebellions and disputes by the Kurds against the central authority of Iraq starting in the 20th century shortly after the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in World War I. Some put the marking point of the conflict beginning to the attempt by Mahmud Barzanji to establish an independent Kingdom of Kurdistan, while others relate to the conflict as only the post-1961 insurrection by the Barzanis. Since the US-led invasion of Iraq and the subsequent adoption of federalism and the recognition of the Kurdistan Region (KRI) as a federal entity in the new Iraqi constitution, the number and scope of armed clashes between the central government of Iraq and the Kurds have significantly decreased. In spite of that, however, there are still outstanding issues that continue to cause strife such as the disputed territories of northern Iraq and rights to export oil and gas, leading to occasional disputes and armed clashes. In September 2023, following a series of punitive measures by the central government in Iraq against KRI, Masrour Barzani sent a letter to the President of the United States expressing concerns about a possible collapse of the Kurdistan Region, and calling for the United States to intervene.

The Battle of Zumar was fought between the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and Kurdish Peshmerga troops over the city of Zumar in Nineveh province in northern Iraq. It started when IS launched an offensive on Zummar from 1–4 August 2014, resulting in its capture. On 25 October, after US airstrikes, Kurdish Peshmerga troops succeeded in recapturing the city, after an unsuccessful attempt to hold it in September.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sinjar massacre</span> Mass genocide and kidnapping carried out by ISIS

The Sinjar massacre marked the beginning of the genocide of Yazidis by ISIL, the killing and abduction of thousands of Yazidi men, women and children. It took place in August 2014 in Sinjar city and Sinjar District in Iraq's Nineveh Governorate and was perpetrated by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). The massacre began with ISIL attacking and capturing Sinjar and neighboring towns on 3 August, during its Northern Iraq offensive.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">War in Iraq (2013–2017)</span> War between Iraq and its allies and the Islamic State

The war in Iraq was an armed conflict between Iraq and its allies and the Islamic State. Following December 2013, the insurgency escalated into full-scale guerrilla warfare following clashes in the cities of Ramadi and Fallujah in parts of western Iraq, and culminated in the Islamic State offensive into Iraq in June 2014, which lead to the capture of the cities of Mosul, Tikrit and other cities in western and northern Iraq by the Islamic State. Between 4–9 June 2014, the city of Mosul was attacked and later fell; following this, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki called for a national state of emergency on 10 June. However, despite the security crisis, Iraq's parliament did not allow Maliki to declare a state of emergency; many legislators boycotted the session because they opposed expanding the prime minister's powers. Ali Ghaidan, a former military commander in Mosul, accused al-Maliki of being the one who issued the order to withdraw from the city of Mosul. At its height, ISIL held 56,000 square kilometers of Iraqi territory, containing 4.5 million citizens.

Between 1 and 15 August 2014, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) expanded territory in northern Iraq under their control. In the region north and west from Mosul, the Islamic State conquered Zumar, Sinjar, Wana, Mosul Dam, Qaraqosh, Tel Keppe, Batnaya and Kocho, and in the region south and east of Mosul the towns Bakhdida, Karamlish, Bartella and Makhmour

<span class="mw-page-title-main">US-led intervention in Iraq (2014–2021)</span> Coalition against the Islamic State

On 15 June 2014 U.S. President Barack Obama ordered United States forces to be dispatched in response to the Northern Iraq offensive of the Islamic State (IS), as part of Operation Inherent Resolve. At the invitation of the Iraqi government, American troops went to assess Iraqi forces and the threat posed by ISIL.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">December 2014 Sinjar offensive</span>

The Sinjar offensive was a combination of operations of Kurdish Peshmerga, PKK and People's Protection Units forces in December 2014, to recapture regions formerly lost to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in their August offensive.

The Peshmerga have historically been Kurdish guerrilla forces combating the ruling power in the region of what is now Iraqi Kurdistan. Under Mahmud Barzanji, the Peshmerga fought against the British Empire after World War I. They also spearheaded revolts against the Iraqi government in 1931–1932 and against Iran in 1946–1947. Under the leadership of Mustafa Barzani, Peshmerga forces fought the Iraqi government in the First and Second Iraqi–Kurdish Wars of the 1960s and 1970s, and supported Iran in the Iran–Iraq War of the 1980s. The Peshmerga became divided between forces loyal to the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and those loyal to the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), a split that led to the Iraqi Kurdish Civil War of 1995–1998. After the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the Peshmerga became the official military forces of the Kurdistan Region, ruled by a KDP-PUK coalition. The Peshmerga have played an important role in re-taking territory occupied by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

The Kurdistan Region Security Council or KRSC is a high-level national security council in Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">November 2015 Sinjar offensive</span> Operation in Iraq War

The November Sinjar offensive was a combination of operations of Kurdish Peshmerga, PKK, and Yezidi Kurd militias in November 2015, to recapture the city of Sinjar from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. It resulted in a decisive victory for the Kurdish forces, who expelled the ISIL militants from Sinjar and regained control of Highway 47, which until then had served as the major supply route between the ISIL strongholds of Raqqa and Mosul.

The Nineveh Plains offensive was a battle in which the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) mounted a multi-front attack against Peshmerga forces in the area north and east of Mosul, in December 2015. The attack—the most significant ISIL military operation in the area in months, was successfully repelled by the Kurdish forces and was followed by a coalition air counter-offensive.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Islamic Emirate of Byara</span> Former unrecognized state in Kurdistan Region

The Islamic Emirate of Byara was a short-lived unrecognized Kurdish Islamic state located in the Halabja Governorate ruled by sharia law which declared independence from Iraq in 2001. It collapsed after the United States with the support of the Peshmerga launched Operation Viking Hammer in 2003.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Masters of Chaos, Chapter 13 Archived 2012-02-14 at the Wayback Machine
  2. "Iraqi political groupings and individuals". middleeastreference.org.uk. Archived from the original on 2007-03-05.
  3. 1 2 Masters of Chaos, Chapter 13 p. 7 Archived 2012-02-14 at the Wayback Machine
  4. Peltier, Isaac J. "Surrogate Warfare: The Role of U.S. Army Special Forces". p. 35. Archived from the original on 2009-02-11.
  5. 1 2 3 4 The Christian Science Monitor (16 October 2003). "The rise and fall of Ansar al-Islam". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
  6. http://sofrep.com/7160/operation-viking-hammer/#!prettyPhoto[post_content]/10 Killed,13 wounded/
  7. Masters of Chaos, Chapter 13 p. 28 Archived 2012-02-14 at the Wayback Machine
  8. John Pike. "On Point - The United States Army in Operation Iraqi Freedom" . Retrieved 1 May 2016.
  9. 1 2 Tucker, Mike; Charles Faddis (2008). Operation Hotel California: The Clandestine War inside Iraq . The Lyons Press. ISBN   978-1-59921-366-8.
  10. "Charles Faddis "Operation Hotel California" (Lyons Press)". The Diane Rehm Show . 17 October 2008. WAMU. Archived from the original on 30 September 2011. Retrieved 29 October 2011.
  11. Woodward, Bob (2004). Plan of Attack. Simon & Schuster, Inc. ISBN   978-0-7432-5547-9
  12. Neville, Leigh, Special Forces in the War on Terror (General Military), Osprey Publishing, 2015 ISBN   978-1-4728-0790-8, p. 98-100
  13. Neville, Leigh, Special Forces in the War on Terror (General Military), Osprey Publishing, 2015 ISBN   978-1-4728-0790-8, p. 100
  14. Masters of Chaos, Chapter 13 p. 17-18 Archived 2012-02-14 at the Wayback Machine
  15. Masters of Chaos, Chapter 13 p. 19-24 Archived 2012-02-14 at the Wayback Machine
  16. Neville, Leigh, Special Forces in the War on Terror (General Military), Osprey Publishing, 2015 ISBN   978-1-4728-0790-8, p. 101
  17. Masters of Chaos, Chapter 13 p. 25-26 Archived 2012-02-14 at the Wayback Machine
  18. "A firefight in the mountains: Operation Viking Hammer was one for the record books – U.S. News & World Report". Usnews.com. March 28, 2004. Retrieved May 19, 2011.
  19. Masters of Chaos, Chapter 13 p. 27-28 Archived 2012-02-14 at the Wayback Machine
  20. "Operation Hotel California: The Clandestine War Inside Iraq – Central Intelligence Agency". Cia.gov. July 2, 2010. Archived from the original on July 7, 2010. Retrieved May 19, 2011.

35°11′00″N45°59′00″E / 35.1833°N 45.9833°E / 35.1833; 45.9833