Operation Phantom Phoenix
Operation Phantom Phoenix was a major nationwide offensive launched by the Multinational Force Iraq (MNF-I) on 8 January 2008 in an attempt to build on the success of the two previous corps-level operations, Operation Phantom Thunder and Operation Phantom Strike and further reduce violence and secure Iraq's population, particularly in the capital Baghdad. The offensive consisted of a number of joint Coalition and Iraqi Army operations throughout northern Iraq as well as in the southern Baghdad Belts.
MNF-I chart showing the focus of Operation Phantom Phoenix
US soldiers and Sunni Arab tribesmen scan for enemy activity in a farm field in southern Arab Jabour, following an air assault as part of Operation Browning, 20 January 2008
Operation Phantom Thunder
Operation Phantom Thunder began on 16 June 2007, when Multi-National Force-Iraq launched major offensive operations against al-Qaeda and other extremist terrorists operating throughout Iraq. It was the largest coordinated military operation since the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Operation Phantom Thunder was a corps level operation, including Operation Arrowhead Ripper in Diyala Province, Operation Marne Torch and Operation Commando Eagle in Babil Province, Operation Fardh al-Qanoon in Baghdad, Operation Alljah in Anbar Province, and continuing special forces actions against the Mahdi Army in southern Iraq and against Al-Qaeda leadership throughout the country. The operation was one of the biggest military operations in Iraq since the U.S. invasion in 2003.
An American soldier fires an AT4 in the Adhamiyah neighborhood.
Stryker soldiers assigned to 4th Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, prepare to enter a mud stall during the clearing of a village in the outskirts of Baqouba, Iraq, 19 June 2007.