Al Sahawa - The Awakening, Volume 4-A: Area of Operations Topeka, East Ramadi and the Shark Fins

The purpose of the Anbar Awakening project, and the five volumes that document its findings, is to tell the story of Al Anbars Sahawa.1 In doing so, it will show that there were a number of poorly understood or little known developments throughout Al Anbar Province, Iraq between 2003 and 2008 that s...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Knarr,William, Alford,Dale, Hawkins,Mary, Graves,David, Goodman,Jennifer, Dobson,Matthew, Leonard,Carolyn, Frost,John, King,Tracy, Jones,Thomas, Coursey,Matt
Format: Report
Language:English
Subjects:
al anbar province(Iraq)
anbar awakening
combat operations
Iraq
joint military activities
military operations
warfare
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Summary:The purpose of the Anbar Awakening project, and the five volumes that document its findings, is to tell the story of Al Anbars Sahawa.1 In doing so, it will show that there were a number of poorly understood or little known developments throughout Al Anbar Province, Iraq between 2003 and 2008 that significantly contribute to the overall Awakening story. It takes the reader before and beyond the better known 14 September 2006 Sahawa pronouncement of Sheikh Sattar Albu-Risha and events in Western and Central Ramadi that most people associate with the Awakening movement.This document, Volume IV-A, addresses events in East Ramadi and the area known as the Shark Fins, Sofia and Julaybah respectively, of the Coalitions Area of Operations (AO) Topeka.2 From 2003 to early 2007, AQI and supporting insurgent groups controlled East Ramadi and the two shark fin areas to the east. The Shark Fins were important to AQI because they provided sanctuary. In close proximity to Ramadi, the provincial capital of Al Anbar, and Baghdad, the Capital of Iraq they were used as training grounds for recruits. They were also staging areas that fed insurgents to the fight in Fallujah and Baghdad to the east, as well as to the battlegrounds in Ramadi to the west. After the Sattar led awakening movement started in Western Ramadi, the villages of Sofia and Julaybah (to the east of Ramadi) became decisive points in the fight for Ramadi.