| Liberation of Jurf Al-Sakhar | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part ofWar in Iraq and theIranian-led intervention in Iraq (2014–present) | |||||||||
 Map of theBabil Governorate, whereJurf Al Sakhar is located | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
 Hezbollah[1] |  Islamic State | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
 Brig. Gen.Hamid Taqavi[2] | Unknown | ||||||||
| Units involved | |||||||||
| Military of the Islamic State | |||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| Iraqi Army & Shiite militia: 7,000[4] Unknown number of others | Unknown | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| Unknown | 498 killed 100+ IEDs defused | ||||||||
Liberation of Jurf Al Sakhar, codenamedOperation Ashura (Arabic:عملية عاشوراء), was a two-day military operation byIraqi government forces andIranian-backedPMU forces beginning on 24 October 2014, aimed at retaking the strategic city ofJurf Al Sakhar nearBaghdad fromIS.[5][6]The operation was mainly aimed at preventing IS militants from reaching the holy cities ofKarbala andNajaf, where IS threatened to carry out attacks against the millions ofShia visitors commemorating theDay of Ashura.
Jurf Al Sakhar is a strategic town 50 kilometres south of the Iraqi capital. It is part of a predominantly Sunni ribbon that runs just south of Baghdad.
In 2014Jurf Al Sakhar was captured by theIslamic State terrorist organization.
The town lies on a road usually taken by millions ofShia Muslim pilgrims who will be heading in droves to the holy Shia city ofKarbala in theDay of Ashura in the holy month ofMuharram in order to commemorate the death ofMuhammad's grandson,Imam Hussein—one of the most revered figures in Shiite Islam. The Islamic State, which considers Shias apostates, was expected to attempt to target the observances.[7]
According to Iraqi security officials, Jurf Al Sakhar "presents a specific danger to Karbala" and clearing the area is a key priority ahead ofAshura.[8]
Five car bombings in the holy city ofKarbala in the week preceding the operation added to its urgency.[8]
On 24 October 2014 the operation was launched in the area by the Iraqi government forces and Iranian-backedShia militias and volunteers caused the liberation of the city.[8][9]
Badr Brigade commanderHadi al-Amiri claimed to have led the operation in tandem with the country's new interior minister, who is a member of his party. Unverified pictures circulated online showed Hadi al-Amiri withQasem Soleimani, the commander ofIran's eliteQuds Force, during the operation. An Iraqi security official and a militia fighter also claimed that Soleimani was present on the battlefield.[8] There have been claims about presence of Iranian forces in the operation. According to a commander of the Shia militia groupKata'ib Hezbollah, there were no Iranian forces, "but if there was a presence of some individuals, it was all officially coordinated".A commander said that Suleimani planned the operation "three months ago".
According to Iraqi security officials, 498 IS militants were killed during the operation. 35 of whom were fromSaudi Arabia, 30 fromChechnya, and 24 fromSyria. 60 of them were snipers or gunman and 29 others were suicide bombers.[10][11]
On 29 October the Babil Government decided to lock the whole of Jurf Al Sakhar down to the area's displaced people for 8 months, so that to remove the numerous IEDs and clear the houses from bombs that has been placed by IS.[12]Some 100 explosive devices, left by insurgents as they retreated from Jurf al-Sakhar region, were defused and detonated by Iraqi forces.[8][13]
Babylon Provincial Council announced that the name of Jurf al-Sakhar (جرف الصخر, meaning "rocky bank") was changed into Jurf al-Nasr (جرف النصر, meaning "victory bank").[14]
Iraq – Prime MinisterHaider al-Abadi praised Iraq's "hero forces" for delivering a "fatal blow" against the Islamic State.[15]Iran – Deputy Foreign Minister for Afro-Arab Affairs Hossein Amirabdollahian congratulated the "Iraqi government and nation on liberation of Jurf Al Sakhar region".[16]On 5 March 2015, Iranian TV channelIRIB 1 broadcast a documentary titledJurf Al Sakhar (Persian:جرف الصخر), directed by Morteza Shaabani and filmed by Mostafa Seyfi during the Operation Ashura, depicting the Iranian-backed Shia militia fighting IS and liberating the Jurf Al Sakhar region.[17][18]
