Battle of Al Kut

Battle of Al Kut
Part of Iraq War
Areas of Responsibility in Iraq as of 30 April 2004
Date 5–7 April 2004 Location Al Kut, Iraq
Belligerents
Multi-National Force – Iraq  United States  Ukraine	Mahdi Army
Commanders and leaders
Sergiy Ostrovsky	Muqtada al-Sadr
Strength
6th Mechanized Brigade	Unknown
Casualties and losses
1 killed 6 wounded	180-200 killed

The Battle of Al Kut was a coordinated Iraqi uprising, launched near the beginning of the Iraq War by Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.

In April 2004, followers of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr launched a well-coordinated uprising across southern Iraq. While Western media focused on events in Sadr City, Najaf, and Karbala, violence occurred elsewhere as well. A Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) source forwarded the following after-action report regarding violence in the town of Al-Kut, the capital of the Wassit Governorate and home to the Ukrainian contingent. After the withdrawal of Ukrainian forces and contractors, the CPA Compound was recaptured and secured by K Troop 3/2 ACR. The unit had clashed with Sadr's Army in Najaf days before and convoyed over 200 km to retake the city from the insurgents.

The unclassified report, written by a coalition security contractor, highlights dysfunction between regional coalition offices and the Coalition Provisional Authority headquarters in Baghdad, as well as tension between diplomats and security officers. The summary faulted a British diplomat who had "toned down" reports of Islamist activity so as not to alarm superiors in Baghdad. The report gave a minute-by-minute update of the battle.^[1]

See also[]

• Iraq Resolution

References[]