Iraqi Special Operations Forces are fierce in battle and show compassion and respect for civilians
UNIPATH STAFF
The elite Iraqi Special Operations Forces score victories every day against Da’ish. Iraqis know these Soldiers as the “Golden Brigade.” When their convoys travel through Iraqi cities, all eyes gravitate to them and the children smile and wave with innocent hands. Their suntanned skin reveals the deep roots of Sumerian warriors rich in love and loyalty to Mesopotamia. Among them are men from Zakho, Basra, Omara, Anbar, Salah al-Din, Kut, Nasiriya and Mosul; they are men of different origins but unified in their love of Iraq. Special Operations Soldiers are forged through tough training — warrior factories — that makes them brothers. These men who wear black uniforms are disciplined and organized. When they are out on missions, they respect traffic laws and yield to civilians. Despite the extremely hot weather of Iraq, they wear all their tactical gear, highlighting their professionalism.
So it is against this background that we describe a battle of real heroism that broke the back of Da’ish forces and upset their sick dream of spreading an ideology that employs decapitations and slavery in a land that always defeats its enemies. Lt. Col. Arkan Jalal Fadhil al-Tikriti, commander of the Special Operations unit that carried out the mission, vividly describes the action:
“In October 2014, the command tasked my unit with taking back the town of Barwana, a strategic small town in the Hadetha district of western Anbar province. Da’ish terrorists entered this peaceful village, killed many innocents and burned government buildings. Hadetha Dam was placed under siege, and a small police unit was still resisting.”
Lt. Col. Arkan explained that the village was strategically located on the main route between Hadetha and the dam. If Da’ish could control the dam, a major source of power generation, it could cut electricity supply lines. The dam also regulates the flow of the Euphrates River that, if tampered with, could flood Baghdad and all the cities in between. The village’s high ground would give Da’ish an advantage in shelling and attacking the dam.
“Da’ish had a vendetta to score against Hadetha because its residents and tribes refused to pledge allegiance to the terrorists,” the colonel continued. “The tribe expelled Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, Da’ish’s former leader, in 2005 and refused to be disgraced by terror and cut the smuggling of foreign fighters from Syria during the peak of sectarian violence. Therefore, Da’ish had come to destroy.
“However, Special Operations shocked Da’ish by their swift response. Headquarters ordered me to leave my current post in southern Ramadi and head 170 kilometers west to Barwana and disrupt Da’ish’s advance toward Hadetha and secure Hadetha Dam. When I received the order, my unit had been fighting Da’ish in southern Ramadi for months. Within a few hours, we were on our way. Despite the rough desert roads and the months-long fighting, my unit was up to the assigned task and maintained high morale.”
Special Operations arrived in Barwana and consulted with two United States advisers who provided help with intelligence, reconnaissance and close air support. Headquarters agreed on the plan of assault and delivered the needed supplies. It was 5 in the morning when the attack began. Forty-eight hours of tough fighting ensued.
“In the first 24 hours, we were able to take back half of the town and killed about 50 terrorists and destroyed 18 vehicles,” Lt. Col. Arkan said. “I must mention the honorable role of the tribe’s men who were fighting alongside us. The governor of Anbar at that time, Mr. Ahmad Alkhalaf Al-Dulaimi, was fighting in the front line and sustained an injury from indirect fire. Da’ish used heavy shelling and a suicide car bomb to try to stop our advancing. The terrain made indirect fire the tactic of choice.
“But that didn’t stop us. By dawn of the second day, Da’ish found itself completely surrounded by our forces. We cut its supply lines and destroyed its shelling positions. We penetrated its defensive lines at multiple points, and the fight intensified. Our intelligence report stated that approximately 350 terrorists were entrenched in the town, whereas our unit consisted of only 75 fighters. But our firepower and skillful tactics gave us the advantage. Before dusk on the second day, we cleared the town and took complete control over it. My men planted the Iraqi flag on the government building, reopened the bridge to Hadetha Dam and broke Da’ish’s siege of the force that had maintained its post inside the dam. The terrorists suffered 385 casualties and the destruction of 50 vehicles, as well as the loss of large weapon caches.”
The colonel testified to the mission’s rapidity. The terrorists had clearly been caught by surprise.
“Much of the credit belongs to the tribal fighters, thanks to their expert knowledge of local terrain and routes that aided in the attack,” he noted. “Credit also belongs to Commanding Gen. [Talib Shaghati] Al Kenani, who stayed in constant communication throughout this important mission. I was honored to deliver the message of victory to Gen. Al Kenani personally.”
Lt. Col. Arkan praised the battle plan for its flexibility. Historically, commanding generals have allowed field commanders little leeway in conducting operations. However, Iraq’s director of counterterrorism forces ordered command and control be given to field commanders familiar with the battlespace.
“The leadership style of Gen. Al Kenani is very advanced and new to Iraqi military doctrine. This boosted morale of field commanders and was tremendously effective. After we set our plans, we submitted it to headquarters so the general could review them and provide input. Working as a team and empowering field officers resulted in huge success.”
Protecting civilians in the battlespace is a very complicated part of the mission; nevertheless, Special Operation Forces men who give their oath to protect the integrity and sovereignty of Iraq go beyond the call of duty to protect civilians.
Lt. Col. Arkan recalled how, because of the intensive fighting and cruelty of terrorists, the towns suffered severe damage and a lack of essential services. Some civilians lived only 100 meters from the fighting. Under those harsh circumstances, the city was completely closed and denied food and water. Although there was no clear front line, residents felt safe when they noted the presence of Special Operations. Soldiers shared limited food and water. They were trained to cope with hunger and thirst, but the children and elderly were not. Troops learned residents’ names, and residents learned Soldiers’ names. Combat medics cared for wounded and sick civilians.
“One night during intensive fighting in the stadium area in Ramadi, a local resident came asking for help,” the colonel said. “His wife was in labor and had no way out due to the fighting. I sent our medical team with him to assist, and we called another unit to escort a midwife to the location. We were glad to help in the birth of a healthy baby and aid his mother.”
The colonel also provided many stories of extraordinary heroism during the fight against Da’ish for 18 months in Anbar. Stories abound about wounded Soldiers refusing to leave the battlefield. They also had to deal with a new kind of warfare in which terrorists turned houses and roads into booby traps and bombarded Iraqi troops with aggressive propaganda meant to intimidate. But Special Operations troops still treated captured terrorists as humanely as possible under the circumstances.
“We captured two terrorists in Hadetha — the first one was a Saudi citizen and the second a Tajikistan citizen,” Lt. Col. Arkan said. “The process of detaining and searching them is documented by video. We treated them with respect and humanity, providing medical attention to the wounded and sending them through the chain of command. We ensured no mistreatment or violation of human rights occurred while in our custody because we are not a terrorist group to torture and savagely kill captives and upload horrific videos to the Internet.
“Unfortunately, Da’ish and its sympathizers filled social media with Photoshopped images and spread untrue stories about burning homes and killing civilians, but in reality, no such events occurred in our area of responsibility. In fact, Da’ish members are the ones who behead innocents and burn homes and brag about it in social media.”
Regarding lessons learned fighting Da’ish, Lt. Col. Arkan noted that most militaries train along conventional lines, with similar battle plans and logistics. However, the battle against Da’ish didn’t follow conventional lines.
“Da’ish does not respect any rules of war, international treaties or human values,” he said. “Furthermore, due to its small groups, it has the flexibility to change tactics and plans, which is difficult to achieve in conventional military structures. The advantage of Special Operations is our ability to adapt to the battlespace and rapidly change plans to counter the enemy. This is what many of our military advisers noticed and liked. Counterterrorism forces manage to change as battles progress, so when the circumstances require defense, we hold our posts and defend. Later, when enemy firepower diminishes, we switch to a swift offense. Such tactics didn’t exist in the military doctrine, but we adopted them based on our experience fighting Da’ish.”
Lt. Col. Arkan’s forces also learned valuable skills in urban combat, and they shared those skills with the rest of the Armed Forces of Iraq.
“In some instances, only one brick wall separates our Soldiers from Da’ish,” the commander said. “We heard them talking and their boots stomping from room to room. We cleared a house and they entrenched next door. Therefore, high morale and readiness is the key to success in urban warfare. What makes Special Operations Forces advanced is the fact that we have been fighting a tough war against Da’ish. Yet every day we remain as fresh and prepared as if we had just entered the fight.”
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