Operation Viking Hammer

Operation Viking Hammer
Part of Kurdistan Islamist Conflict and 2003 invasion of Iraq

Halabja city
DateMarch 28–30, 2003
Location
Around Halabja, Iraq
Result

American-Peshmerga victory

Belligerents

 United States
Peshmerga

Islamic Emirate of Byara
Supported by:
 Iran (alleged by Peshmerga)
Commanders and leaders
Kenneth E. Tovo[1]
Jalal Talabani		 Abu Abdullah al-Shafi'i
Ali Bapir
Units involved
US Army Special Forces
CIA SAD
CTG		 Ansar al-Islam
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
3 killed, 23 wounded[6] 150–200 killed, remainder captured or fled to Iran[5]
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.

  1. ^ 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. ^ 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. ^ a b 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