2004 Iraq spring fighting
| 2004 Iraq spring fighting | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Iraq War | |||||||||
 US Marines peer over a rooftop ledge to fix in enemy targets in Fallujah | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
Coalition forces: United States United Kingdom Spain Australia Poland New Iraqi Army Multinational forces in Iraq |
Insurgent groups: Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad Islamic Army in Iraq 1920 Revolution Brigade Army of Mujahideen Jamaat Ansar al-Sunna Ansar al-Islam Mahdi ArmyOther insurgent groups and militias | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
|
Gen. John Abizaid Col. Peter Mansoor |
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi (Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad) Mahdi al-Sumayda'i (Islamist leader) Abdullah al-Janabi (Islamist leader) Omar Hadid (Islamist commander) Muqtada al-Sadr (Mahdi Army) | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| 200,000 | 35,000 | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
|
217 killed 1 captured 2,500 wounded 150 killed14,800 deserted Other coalition forces: 16 killed 107 wounded |
1,342 killed 430 captured (coalition claim) | ||||||||
The 2004 Iraq spring fighting was a series of operational offensives and various major engagements during the Iraq War. It was a turning point in the war; with the spring fighting marking the entrance into the conflict of militias and religiously based (Shia and Sunni) militant groups, such as the Shia Mahdi Army.