Page 231 - Conflitti Militari e Popolazioni Civili - Tomo II

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the remaining civilians, through the opening as his forces executed a zone reconnaissance.
He found himself commanding more Soldiers than were in most brigades; his captains
commanding the equivalent of battalions. 46
The operation commenced on 2 September with a “3-day zone reconnaissance.” PSYOP
teams broadcast orders forbidding digging and the carrying of weapons. Coalition forces
encountered heavy resistance in the south, but only infrequent sniper fire to the north. An
Avenger platoon from the regiment’s ADA Battery established an overwatch position on the
eastern edge of the city, and Special Operations Forces set up blocking positions at the castle
to prevent movement to the west. By the end of the day, the 2d Squadron had established
patrol bases as it prepared for deliberate attacks the next day. Some of Tall ‘Afar’s citizens
began to come forward and volunteer information on the whereabouts of the enemy, their
strength, and identities. The second day’s operations began early the next morning, but
with much less resistance; some Soldiers expressed wonderment at this turn of events.
Most of the engagements that did take place involved suppressing enemy fire, cordoning
off buildings, and searching them. In some cases, insurgents abandoned their weapons and
started withdrawing deeper into the city, hoping to blend with the population and eventually
escape. 47
The third day of the operation, 4 September, resistance intensified. Withdrawing
insurgents had booby-trapped houses. Engaging the enemy with 120-mm tank main guns,
25-mm Bradley chain guns, 30-mm Apache guns, TOWs, Hellfires, and .50-caliber and
coaxial machine gun fire, 2d Squadron, supported by R Troop, 4th Squadron, drove deeper
into Sarai; dismounted troopers and Iraqi soldiers cleared houses, even using sledgehammers
to break down doors. Aviation elements “found themselves, at times, firing within 50–75
meters of friendly . . . forces.” By the end of the day, Coalition forces had reached the limits
of their advance, Phase Lines (Routes) BELL AIR and BARRACUDA; they then prepared
for the evacuation of Sarai. 48
Originally, the evacuation was to have lasted 3 days; instead, on the orders of Prime
Minister Ibrahim al-Jafaari, it lasted a week. Insurgents attempted their escapes by mixing
with civilians. Five insurgents dressed as women, including one with false breasts, were
detained at a checkpoint. others grasped children’s hands, hoping to insinuate themselves
into families and facilitate their escape. In 1st Squadron’s AOR, the Shiite 4th Commando
Brigade, the self-proclaimed “Wolf Brigade” returned to Tall ‘Afar. Still poorly disciplined
and ill-trained, it had been selected by the Interior Ministry over the more experienced 1st
Brigade, which was commanded by a Sunni Turkmen. The Wolves’ deployment was short-
lived—senior US commanders requested its immediate withdrawal because of its low level
of training, poor discipline, and concerns from the Sunni population. In these final stages of
the operation, one intelligence officer noted that “al-Qaeda is slipping to the east and behind

46 Ibid., 32–39; Hickey interview; Brown, 3/3 ACR Operations and Intelligence Briefing.
47 Simmering, 2/3 ACR Actions, 32–39; Jonathan Finer, “U.S.-Led Assault in N. Iraq Town Meets Little Insur-
gent Resistance,” Washington Post, 4 September 2005.
48 Simmering, 2/3 ACR Actions, 32–39; After Action Review, 4th Commando Brigade Deployment to Tall
Afar, Headquarters, 2d Brigade, 75th Division, Special Police Commando Division Transition Team, 21
September 2005; Finer, “U.S. Troops Cordon Part of Iraqi Town.”