Battle of Haifa Street The Battle of Haifa Street was a battle fought during January 2007 for the control of Haifa Street , a two - mile - long street in downtown Baghdad , Iraq , pitting American and Iraqi Army forces against various Sunni insurgent forces between January 6 and January 9 , 2007 ( phase one ) , and then two weeks later on January 24 when US forces launched a second attempt to clear Haifa Street of insurgents once and for all . This battle was the precursor for clearing operations that would set the conditions for " the surge " which ultimately neutralized insurgent groups in this part of Baghdad during the spring and summer of 2007 . Background . Haifa Street runs through a majority - Sunni area , although there is an area of Shi ' ite - dominated neighborhoods to the west , making the Haifa Street area a sectarian fault line between Shi ' ite and Sunni neighborhoods . As a result , brutal killings by both sides drove the residents of the high - rise buildings out of the area , enabling insurgents to take over abandoned apartments . In January 2007 , the commander of Multi National Corps - Iraq ( MNC - I ) , General Odierno , ordered a full - scale offensive to dislodge al Qaida from what one US commander called " the most dangerous street in Iraq " . Two - phase battle . Phase one ( January 6 to 9 ) . On January 6 , 2007 , Iraqi soldiers on patrol along Haifa Street discovered a fake checkpoint manned by Sunni insurgents . A gun battle followed in which Iraqi forces killed 30 insurgents . That night in retaliation , insurgents dumped the bodies of 27 executed Shi ' ites . The next day , insurgent snipers killed 2 Iraqi security guards near a neighborhood mosque . On January 8 , Iraqi forces attempted to remove insurgent forces from Haifa Street , but the attack was repulsed and 2 Iraqi soldiers were killed . US forces were then called in to help clear out the street . On the January 9 , 2007 , American and Iraqi forces began a joint operation . The US 1st Battalion of the 23rd Infantry Regiment linked up with Iraqi forces on the north end of Haifa street and began occupying buildings and arresting suspects . At 7 : 00am hundreds of insurgents started to shoot at the Americans from the high - rises ( the Holland Apartments ) . Heavy incoming fire pinned down the American soldiers trapping them on a rooftop for at least two hours . Some soldiers who were not on the rooftop could not move on the street because of sniper and machine - gun fire . The fighting became so intense that US Apache helicopters , F - 15E Strike Eagle s , more than a dozen Iraqi gun trucks , Stryker combat vehicles and about 1 , 000 Iraqi Army soldiers were called in . The battle was some of the fiercest fighting the Iraqi capital had seen in months ( since Operation Together Forward ) . US helicopters fired Hellfire missiles at insurgent positions while fighter jets provided additional cover . Thunderous explosions were heard throughout Baghdad from U . S . missile and insurgent mortar and rocket - propelled grenade fire . U . S . and Iraqi soldiers engaged in running battles with insurgents up and down Haifa Street . The fighting lasted for over three days . 16 Iraqi soldiers and 73 insurgents were killed . Phase two ( January 24 ) . Two weeks later on January 24 , the American and Iraqi forces made a new attempt to capture Haifa Street . The battle began when American forces of the 1 - 23 Infantry ( 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team , 2nd Infantry Division ) entered the area from the south in the early morning on the 24th and linked up with Iraqi forces from 1st Battalion 1st Brigade 6th Iraqi Division , and US forces from 4 / 9 Cav of the 2nd BCT of the 1st Cavalry Division . Using infantry , Strykers and Bradleys , American forces moved from building to building , taking sniper and mortar fire . The fighting lasted 8 hours . Some 30 insurgents were killed and 35 captured . 1 American soldier , SSG Hector Leija was also killed . Aftermath . Approximately 500 Iraqi and 400 U . S . soldiers took part in the battle along a two - mile stretch of Haifa Street . The images of the fighting were shown across the world on various news media , including YouTube , which coincided with President George W . Bush ' s speech about committing more than 21 , 000 extra U . S . troops to Iraq . President Bush argued that the additional soldiers will help to secure Baghdad , but on the ground there were signs that problems were yet to come . Within 24 hours of the start of the fight in Haifa Street , Gen . Razzak Hamza , a Sunni Iraqi Army commander of the Fifth Brigade , 6th Iraqi Division , was relieved of duty by the Shiite Prime Minister Nuri al - Maliki , and replaced by a Shiite commander . It was reported that the prime minister blamed Hamza for the violence on Haifa Street , and said he was not doing enough to stop it . It was believed that the meddling from the prime minister ' s office was driven by sectarian motives , in part because Razzak had been putting pressure on the Shiite militias . The interference by the Maliki administration raised questions about whether government leaders are truly willing to put Iraq ’ s sectarian differences aside . This was one of the few battles where the insurgents and the coalition troops have fought each other ' face - to - face ' . Media Coverage . Lara Logan report . In late January 2007 , Logan filed a report about fighting along Haifa Street in Baghdad . When CBS News refused to run the report on the nightly news because the footage was " a bit strong " . Logan tried to win public support to reverse this decision . Logan said , " I would be very grateful if any of you have a chance to watch this story and pass the link on to as many people you know as possible . It should be seen . And people should know about this . " Logan went on to use some of the Haifa Street material during a " 60 Minutes " report about life in Baghdad under the surge .