Operation Phantom Linebacker
Part ofWar on Terrorism,Operation Iraqi Freedom
Date Early August 2004 Location Baghdad, Iraq Result Designed to interdict anti-government fighters from entering Iraq fromSyria
Belligerents
United States Iraqi National Guard ROK forces in Iraq	Syria, Iraqi Insurgency
Commanders and leaders
Capt. Kim Chu Young	Unknown Unknown

Operation Phantom Linebacker was amilitary operation in Iraq carried out jointly byCoalition forces and theIraqi military to reinforce theIraq–Syria border.^[1] The operation was put in place at the request of theIraqi government, which claimed that large numbers of foreign militants and weapons were entering the country through the border, although this was disputed by the U.S. military, which maintained thatIraq's insurgency was largely homegrown.^[2] Under the operation, several thousand U.S. troops were sent to the border to assist in border patrols and train members of the Iraqi border police.^[3]

Until 2003, the border had been patrolled byparamilitary units and local towns. The U.S.-ledinvasion of Iraq caused this system to collapse. As a result, supporters of the deposedgovernment of Saddam Hussein were feared to be streaming across the border.^[1][3] Some of the militants used poorly patrolled border crossings in the desert, while others crossed at staffed checkpoints usingfake passports.^[3] U.S. military officials noted Iraqi soldiers' susceptibility tobribes was a major issue in the porous nature of the border.^[1]

Although Iraqi officials had expressed fears that large numbers of foreign fighters were entering Iraq from Syria, around two months into the operation the U.S. military stated that the operation had apprehended only small numbers of such militants. Most of the people crossing the border were smugglers and Syrians who had ties to tribes living on the Iraqi side of the border, although a significant number of Iraqi militants linked to the former rulingBa'ath Party, who had fled Iraq after the U.S.-led invasion, were also apprehended.^[2]

US forces reported to be involved were

• 3rd Brigade, United States Army
• 2nd Infantry Division (United States)

Iraqi Units involved

• Iraqi National Guard
• Iraqi Border Police

No US, Coalition or Iraqi casualties or deaths were reported during the operation.

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