Italian involvement in the Iraq War

Italian involvement in the Iraq War
Part of Iraq War

Italian Army personnel depart Tallil Air Base, Iraq for an early morning convoy escort duty on 28 April 2005
Date15 July 2003 – 1 December 2006
Location
Mostly Nasiriyah, Iraq
Result Italian Operational Success[1]
Belligerents
Mahdi Army
Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad
 Italy
 Romania
 Portugal
Commanders and leaders
Muqtada al-Sadr
Aws al-Khafaji Executed
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi
Italy Gian Marco Chiarini
Romania Nicolae Ciucă
Units involved
Mahdi Army
Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad
Italy 132nd Armored Brigade
Romania 26th Infantry Battalion
Strength
over 10,000 3,200 Italian soldiers, a Romanian battalion, units of the Portuguese military police
Casualties and losses
unknown, but high 36 Italian casualties
1 Romanian casualty

Operation Ancient Babylon (Italian: Operazione Antica Babilonia) was the code name given to the deployment of Italian forces during the Iraq War. Their mission lasted from 15 July 2003 to 1 December 2006. The troops were located in and around Nasiriyah.[2]

Italy lost 36 soldiers during the mission, half of them in the 2003 Nasiriyah bombing against the Carabinieri Multinational Specialized Unit base. Italian forces were assisted by Portuguese and Romanian troops.

  1. ^ "Ministero della Difesa:Iraq-ANTICA BABILONIA". Retrieved 22 June 2012.
  2. ^ "Esercito Italiano: Operazione Antica Babilonia". Archived from the original on 4 February 2007. Retrieved 16 October 2017.