Operation Phantom Thunder

Operation Phantom Thunder
Part of the Iraq War
A cloud of smoke and dust envelopes a U.S. soldier seconds after he fired an AT-4 anti-tank weapon at an insurgent position during fighting in Baghdad's Adhamiyah neighborhood.
An American soldier fires an AT4 in the Adhamiyah neighborhood.
Date16 June 2007 – 14 August 2007
Location
Iraq
Result Allied victory
(Large territories previously held by insurgents come under coalition control; Operations continue with operation Phantom Strike)
Belligerents
 United States
Iraq Iraqi Army
Iraq Revolution Brigade[1]
Iraq Awakening Movement[2]
Peshmerga[3]

Islamic State of Iraq

Mahdi Army

Other Iraqi insurgents
Commanders and leaders
United States David Petraeus
United States Raymond Odierno		 Abu Omar al-Baghdadi
Abu Ayyub al-Masri
Strength

~28,000 U.S./Iraqi Forces

2,100 Peshmerga		 Unknown
Casualties and losses
Iraq 220 security forces killed
Iraq 20 militia killed [4]
140 killed

1 OH-58 Kiowa and
1 AH-64 Apache shot down		 1,196 killed (46 bombers),
6,702 captured,
51 boats destroyed,
1,113 weapons caches destroyed,
382 high value individuals captured or killed,
2,299 IEDs cleared,
52 VBIEDS neutralized,
142 total Battalion-level Joint Operations[4][5][6][7]
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.

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.[8] 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.[9] The operation was one of the biggest military operations in Iraq since the U.S. invasion in 2003.[10]

  1. ^ "The Battle of Baqubah I". The Long War Journal. Archived from the original on 21 June 2007. Retrieved 20 June 2007.
  2. ^ Michael Yon. "Be Not Afraid". Archived from the original on 11 March 2008. Retrieved 20 June 2007.
  3. ^ "The Progress of the Peshmerga Forces and their role in post-2003 Iraq. BySaeed Kakeyi".
  4. ^ a b "Report: Sunnis attack village near Baghdad". USA Today. 10 July 2007.
  5. ^ "One Week of Operation Phantom Thunder". The Long War Journal. Archived from the original on 16 July 2007. Retrieved 23 June 2007.
  6. ^ "اخبار العراق اليوم من السومرية نيوز". Archived from the original on 1 October 2011. Retrieved 25 June 2007.
  7. ^ "mnf-iraq.com". Archived from the original on 13 July 2007.
  8. ^ "Institute for the Study of War". Institute for the Study of War. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  9. ^ Current Press Releases - MISSING SOLDIERS RECOVERED Archived 8 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  10. ^ Yates, Dean (21 June 2007). "10,000 US troops launch major offensive in Iraq". The New Zealand Herald. Reuters. Retrieved 1 November 2011.