Battle of Mosul ( 2004 ) The Battle for Mosul was a battle fought during the Iraq War in 2004 for the capital of the Ninawa Governorate in northern Iraq that occurred concurrently to fighting in Fallujah . Prelude . During the occupation by the U . S . 101st Airborne Division in 2003 , a 21 , 000 - strong force under General David Petraeus , the U . S . forces made a civil peace with the local Sunni tribes . However , after its pullout , the CIA allied itself almost exclusively with the Kurds , and the U . S . had been seen as essentially another tribal ally of the Kurds , making conflict inevitable . While one battalion of the 25th Infantry Division were heading out of Mosul to Fallujah to help in the attack on the city , insurgents were , ironically , coming in to the city from Fallujah where they were joined by foreign fighters from across the border . Attacks on coalition forces in the city intensified and the insurgents were planning on trying to take the city when the attack on Fallujah began . Battle . By November 8 , 2004 , insurgents were conducting coordinated attacks and ambushes in an attempt to take over the city . That same day , units from the 1st Battalion , 24th Infantry Regiment , known as " Deuce Four " , fought with the insurgents in the vicinity of the Yarmuk traffic circle , in the heart of western Mosul . The battle lasted throughout the day and the insurgents proved to be both determined and coordinated . The 3rd Battalion , 21st Infantry Regiment , known as " Gimlets " to the north was hammered with mortars while insurgents attacked from the west , east , and south with small arms fire , RPGs , and machine gun fire . As a testament to the intensity of combat that day , a 30 man Platoon ( 2nd PLT ) from Bravo Co . 1st Battalion , 24th Infantry Regiment sustained 9 casualties and 2 out of their 4 Stryker vehicles were rendered useless as RPGs and machine gun fire had taken out their weapon systems . Kiowa Warrior attack helicopters had also taken out several technical vehicles that day . On November 9 , 2004 , an Army Major and an Air Force Master Sergeant died as a result of an RPG attack and mortar attack on Forward Operating Base Courage in Mosul . On November 10 , 2004 , hundreds of insurgents flooded the streets of the city . They started attacking Iraqi security forces and by the next day had taken the initiative . On November 11 , the insurgents had captured one police station and destroyed two more . They broke into the stations ' armories and distributed the weapons and flak jacket s they could find . The Iraqi police force was overrun in a matter of hours , scattering and deserting from the street fighting . Security in the city almost completely broke down . Once again , the soldiers from Deuce Four on the west side of the city and the Gimlets on the east side of the city took the fight to the enemy . Notably , this time Bravo Co . , Deuce - Four was set up to the west of the Yarmuk traffic circle as Alpha Co . and other elements from Deuce Four to the east , pushed west . The hammer against the anvil plan worked and once again the units were involved in intense urban combat . Jets flew overhead dropping JDAM bombs while the infantrymen below fought house to house and held their ground against insurgent assaults and mortar attacks . Spec . Thomas K . Doerflinger from Bravo Co . 1 - 24th was among the casualties that day when he was shot in the head and killed by a sniper as he provided covering fire for his fellow soldiers . He was awarded the Bronze Star posthumously . Before the end of the night , insurgent forces had managed to take one of the five bridges over the Tigris river before the Americans took control of the other four . Further insurgent reinforcements arrived at the city on November 12 in technicals and other vehicles . Nine more police stations were attacked – one was destroyed and the others were taken . The headquarters of the Kurdish Democratic Party was also attacked and burned to the ground . The insurgents proceeded then to the party buildings of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan . Alarmed by the attacks , the Peshmerga installed a heavy machinegun on the roof and 12 peshmerga fought off dozens , if not hundreds of insurgents , until 600 other Peshmerga reached the scene and managed to deny insurgents control over the Kurdish populated east side of Mosul . Nevertheless the insurgents managed to control the whole western Arab part of the City . The Peshmerga sent another 2000 fighters into Mosul in response to a request by the Iraqi Defense Ministry in an effort to stop the insurgent advance . The United States Air Force began a bombing campaign on rebel positions in the city which continued into the next day . One of the targets hit was a cemetery . By November 13 , the insurgents had assumed control of two - thirds of the city . They began to hunt down members of the new Iraqi security forces and publicly execute them , usually by beheading . 1st Battalion , 5th Infantry Regiment of the U . S . 25th Infantry Division was diverted from the attack on Fallujah to help in retaking the city . Also , 300 members of the Iraqi National Guard from the Syrian border , an Iraqi special forces battalion from Baghdad and a number of Kurdish Peshmerga fighters were called in to assist . All established U . S . Forward Operating Bases in Mosul held . Two more police stations were taken by the insurgents on November 14 , though their forces withdrew from one , and the Ninewah Provincial Governor ' s house was burned down . However , thanks to Colonel James H . Coffman and the Iraqi Special Police Commandos , the police station known as Four West was spared . For his actions that day , Colonel Coffman was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross . At approximately 1030 hours on November 14 , Colonel Coffman moved with a Commando Quick Reaction Force ( QRF ) to reinforce a Commando platoon under attack at the Four West Police Station in Mosul . As the QRF neared the besieged platoon , it came under intense rocket - propelled grenade , mortar , machinegun , and AK - 47 fire by a large insurgent force . Over the next four hours , the enemy repeatedly assaulted the Commandos ' position , at times culminating their attacks twenty meters from Colonel Coffman ' s location . With all but one of the commando officers killed or seriously wounded by the initial enemy fire , Colonel Coffman exhibited truly inspirational leadership , rallying the Commandos and organizing a hasty defense while attempting to radio higher headquarters for reinforcements . Under heavy fire , he moved from Commando to Commando , issuing them orders with hand signals . At one point , an enemy round shattered Colonel Coffman ' s shooting hand and rendered his M4 rifle inoperable . After bandaging his hand , Colonel Coffman picked up AK - 47s from Commando casualties and fired them with his other hand until each ran out of ammunition . With the assistance of the one remaining Commando officer , Colonel Coffman redistributed ammunition among the uninjured commandos until he had only loose ammunition . Four hours after the start of the battle , a second Commando element arrived and Colonel Coffman guided them to his position . Shortly thereafter , attack helicopters also arrived , followed closely by a Stryker Brigade QRF , and Colonel Coffman used Iraqi radios to direct air strikes . After supervising the evacuation of several dozen wounded Commandos , Colonel Coffman led a squad - sized element to the Four West Iraqi Police Station , fifty meters ahead of the Strykers , to make contact with the Commandos still in the station . After they linked up , the Strykers moved forward , and attack helicopters engaged the buildings occupied by the enemy , following which Colonel Coffman returned to his original position where he was evacuated with the rest of the Iraqi commando casualties . During the fierce four - hour battle , twelve Commandos were killed and 42 were wounded . Twenty - five enemy were killed and many dozens more were wounded . " Two days later , on November 16 , U . S . forces managed to break through across the insurgent - controlled bridge , and went on to take back the northern , eastern and southern part of the city . The Americans reported that they met little resistance , though three of the ten police stations were burned down by withdrawing insurgent forces . By late in the evening the city was partly secured by the 25th Infantry . The city , nor any part of the city was ever in insurgent hands . Aftermath . Over the next three weeks , 76 bodies of executed Iraqi soldiers were found throughout the city . 122 people were killed during the street fighting ; 4 U . S . soldiers , 31 members of the Iraqi security forces , 9 Kurdish peshmerga fighters , at least 71 insurgents , five civilians , one British security contractor , and one Turkish truck driver . With that the final death toll of the insurgent uprising in Mosul is an estimated 198 killed . However , other estimates are much higher and other sources say many more insurgents and civilians were killed in the battle . Actual casualty figures remain unknown . The insurgents managed to make a safe haven out of the western part of the city from where they continued to conduct hit and run attacks over the coming months . One of the more notable attacks came just a month after the fighting ceased , when a suicide bomber dressed like an Iraqi soldier managed to get in to the mess tent on an American base called Forward Operating Base Marez , and detonated himself – killing 22 people , including 14 American soldiers . The insurgent group known as Jaish Ansar al - Sunna claimed responsibility for the attack . The battle resulted in the city complement of security forces deserting leaving the area insecure . The 1st Brigade , 25th Infantry Division ( Stryker Brigade Combat Team ) was on their own in the city until they were able to build up the Iraqi Police and Iraqi Military presence once again .