Regimental Combat Team 2 comprised the nucleus of Task Force Tarawa during the 2003 invasion of Iraq in the initial stage of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003. Its most notable action was the Battle of Nasiriyah to secure a pair of key bridges across the Euphrates River. The fighting there was later dubbed "Ambush Alley" and was the most intense urban warfare seen by the Marine Corps since the Battle of Huế in 1968. Elements of the 2nd Marines also supported the rescue of Army prisoner of war (POW) Jessica Lynch.