Battle of Najaf ( 2007 ) The Battle of Najaf took place on 28 January 2007 at Zarqa ( alt . Zarga ) near Najaf , Iraq , between Iraqi Security Forces ( later assisted by U . S . and UK forces ) and fighters , initially thought to be Iraqi insurgents but later reported to be members of the Shia Islam cult Soldiers of Heaven , who had joined a gathering of worshippers — or , by other accounts , a conflict , originally between an Iraqi government forces checkpoint and 200 armed pilgrims , which then expanded to include local residents , the Soldiers of Heaven group , and UK and U . S . forces . Iraqi official account . In the lead - up to the Day of Ashura , which involves large numbers of pilgrims travelling , some to Najaf , for Shiite festivals , the Iraqi officials were said to discovered a plot to assassinate the Grand Ayatollah Ali al - Sistani and other Shia religious leaders by the insurgents . Alleged plans called for the insurgents to disguise themselves as pilgrims and suddenly open fire , in attempts to assassinate as many leading Shiite clerics as possible and cause overall disruption of the holiday . Violent attacks have occurred in Najaf during previous Ashura festivals ( see Ashura massacre ) . The initial raid by the Iraqi security forces against suspected insurgent hideout turned into heavy fighting , with the Iraqi Army almost being overwhelmed . The government forces began to retreat but were soon surrounded and pinned down . During the hours - long battle , rebel fighters captured one wounded Iraqi soldier ; they treated him at the compound and sent him back to his comrades with a message saying " the imam is coming back . " At one point the Iraqi forces called on the radio to say that they were running low on ammunition . The fighting became so intense that support from U . S . and British attack helicopter s and F - 16 fighter jets was called in . The airstrike s carried out by Special Forces operators partnered with the Iraqi Army helped break the stalemate , but not before one American AH - 64 attack helicopter was shot down , killing two U . S . soldiers . Military Transition Team ( MiTT ) 0810 partnered the Iraqi Army was first to respond to the Apache helicopter crash as the Soldiers of Heaven cult was attempting to seize the crash site . Once the crash site was secured by U . S . forces and the enemy disposition was ascertained , further support was requested . The Iraqi Army was still unable to advance , and they called in support from both an elite Iraqi unit known as HIllah SWAT , which is based to the north in Hilla , and U . S motorized infantry troops . Around 1pm , elements of the 2nd Battalion , 3rd Infantry Regiment , part of 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team , 2nd Infantry Division were dispatched from near Baghdad . Some of the gunmen managed to break out toward Karbala . On 1 February , the city of Najaf was cordoned off , and subsequently Iraqi Government and U . S . forces appeared to be involved in heavy fighting , including helicopter gunship support . The opposing forces seem to be militants inside the city limits . This seemingly contradicted initial assessment that the hostile group was effectively destroyed after the battle of 28 January , but independently verified information was not available at the time . Controversy . The other account of the incident was presented in the newspaper articles by Patrick Cockburn and , working together , Dahr Jamail and Ali al - Fadhily . According to this version , at around 6 a . m . Hajj Sa ' ad Sa ' ad Nayif al - Hatemi , chief of the Hawatim Shia tribe , led a group of armed pilgrims from that tribe to a security checkpoint . Security forces killed al - Hatemi , his wife , and his driver . The pilgrims , who had walked alongside the car to the checkpoint , then attacked the security forces in retaliation . A local tribe , the Khaza ' il , tried to stop the fighting but were shot at in the crossfire . Iraqi troops at the checkpoint reported al - Qaeda forces were attacking and more security forces arrived in response , surrounding the Hawatim . The Hawatim tried unsuccessfully to stop the fighting at this stage . Firing continued and a U . S . helicopter was shot down . U . S . aircraft bombarded the area until early the next morning . 120 Hawatim and local residents were killed . The group led by Ahmad al - Hassani was based in the local area of the fighting and was drawn into it . They , the Hawatim and the Khaza ' il , were are opposed to groups that make " the core of the Baghdad government " . The presence of Ahmad al - Hassani ' s group provided justification for a massacre of opponents to important groups in the Iraqi government . A radical Shiite cleric , Ayatollah Mahmud al - Hasani al - Sarkhi , was reported on 6 February 2007 , to be calling for an independent inquiry into what " many in Iraq now regard as a ' massacre ' in which scores of women and children were killed . " The Speaker of the Iraqi Parliament , Mahmoud al - Mashhadani , accused the government of concealing the truth about the event . Aftermath . At least six Iraqi policemen and five Iraqi soldiers had died in the fighting along with the two American soldiers . Another 15 policemen and 15 soldiers were wounded ; among them was Najaf ' s police chief . Another Iraqi military official put the death toll for Iraqi security forces at 25 . U . S . and Iraqi troops killed 400 and captured 406 rebels in the fierce fighting around the city . The majority of the fighters were Iraqi , but Brigadier General Fadhil Barwari stated that the group included 30 Afghan s and Saudis and one Sudanese fighter . Shi ' ite political sources said the gunmen appeared to be both Sunnis and Shi ' ites loyal to a heretical cleric called Ahmed Ismail Katte , and linked to the militant group Ansar al - Sunna . The Iraqi army said it captured some 500 automatic rifle s in addition to mortar s , at least 40 machine gun s , and even some Russian - made Katyusha rockets and anti - aircraft missile s . Information recovered from dead and captured fighters indicate they belonged to a renegade Shi ' ite group which called themselves the Soldiers of Heaven ( " Jund al - Samaa " ) and have been described as an apocalyptic religious cult . The cult leader , Ahmed Ismail Katte , who claimed to be the Mahdi , a messiah – in Shia Islam . Iraqi officials said that the militant leader , Ahmed Ismail Katte , was a Sunni from a Sunni stronghold of Zubayr near Basra in the south . He represented himself as Ahmed Hassan al - Yamani ( a Shia name ) to win over support for his cause . He was identified as a deputy to the cult leader Dia Abdul Zahra Kadim , who was believed to be a former security officer from the old regime . Their actual names and identities were also questioned . The U . S . military has referred to them only as gunmen , not insurgents or terrorists . Dia Abdul - Zahra was killed in the fighting while the whereabouts of Ahmed Hassani al - Yemeni were not known . The Iraqi authorities may also have exaggerated their own military success . The signs are that they underestimated the strength of the Soldiers of Heaven and had to call for urgent American air support . One U . S . adviser to Iraqi security forces cautioned against exaggerated casualty reports from the Iraqi government , saying , " There are rumors everywhere , the whole situation is so bizarre . " The adviser also questioned how the Soldiers of Heaven force had grown and remained undetected until this conflict . Iraqi officials say the group ' s stronghold included tunnels , trench es and blockades . The same location was also reported to include a swimming pool , air conditioned beauty salon , car - bomb making workshop and a car dismantling workshop and was described as a " compound " . A neighbor said the residents had a history of " criminal activity , including car theft . " After the battle , Iraqi police rounded up hundreds of sect members and put them on trial . On 2 September 2007 , the criminal court passed judgement on 458 accused . Ten leaders of the Soldiers of Heaven were sentenced to death , 54 members were released , and the rest were sentenced to jail terms ranging from 15 years to life , Najaf police chief Brigadier General Abdel Karim Mustapha said .