CIMIC - House CIMIC - House was the British Army - led Multi - National Division ( South - East ) ' s centre of Civil - Military Co - operation activities in the Iraqi town of Al Amarah . It was situated in the former residence of the Ba ' ath Party governor of Maysan province . Determined to take the strongpoint , militia of the Shia Mahdi Army launched sustained attacks on the British positions at CIMIC House and the neighbouring Pink Palace , the seat of local government , beginning on 5 August 2004 . Al Amarah was garrisoned by fewer than 90 Soldiers from Y Company of the 1st Battalion , The Princess of Wales ' s Royal Regiment ( including TA elements from 52nd Lowland Regiment ) and 60 from the Royal Welsh Fusiliers . Both units were part of the 1st Mechanised Brigade on TELIC IV . The forces in Amarah were isolated some from the main Battle Group in Abu Naji , and dependent on convoys for resupply . During the siege , they faced an estimated 500 militia who launched a total of 86 assaults on the compound over the next 23 days , ranging from section strength up to a series of company - level assaults with 100 - plus fighters . Incoming fire from the Mahdi Army included 595 mortar rounds from 230 different bombardments , direct hits with 57 rocket - propelled grenades and six 107 mm rockets plus 86 ground assaults on CIMIC ( Civil - Military Co - operation ) House itself . Y Company , 1 PWRR , based at CIMIC House , became the most attacked company in the entire Iraqi theatre of operations . In defending the compound , the British fired 33 , 000 rounds , and many Challenger 2 , Warrior , and High Explosive 81mm Mortar shells and managed to persuade the US Air Force to drop a precision laser guided 500 lb bomb onto enemy mortar positions in open ground right in the middle of a built up - city , defending their positions in trying to repulse the Mahdi Army in what has been described as " the longest continuous action fought by the British Army since the Korean War 50 years ago " . It was also the " lengthiest defensive stand since World War II " . Fighting reached a peak between the 5 and 25 August when the intensity was such that armoured convoys were unable to reach the base to resupply the British , although none of the waves of infantry attacks by the Mahdi Army got within 30 metres of the British lines . During this time commanding officer , Major Justin Featherstone , was given permission to withdraw by his Commanding Officer if he felt events on the ground required it but refused to have his men leave their posts . At the end of the siege , six British soldiers were injured seriously in the battle , the only fatality on the British side was Private Chris Rayment who died when a traffic barrier fell on his head , after the linkage was caught by a ' Pinky ' ( long - wheelbase Land Rover Wolf ) which was entering the camp in a convoy , under heavy enemy fire . Mahdi Army casualties at the end of the battle were estimated by the British to be at least 200 dead , leaving them as a seriously depleted force in Al Amarah , incapable of attacking the British in large numbers for the remainder of the coalition occupation of the town . CIMIC House was handed over to the Iraqis at the end of August 2004 , with the British consolidating their forces in Camp Abu Naji . Among the soldiers defending CIMIC house was a large contingent of Territorial Army soldiers who were mobilised to serve with the PWRR and QRL Battle Groups in April 2004 . They included Territorial soldiers from the 52nd Lowland Regiment and Soldiers from various different squadrons of the Royal Yeomanry regiment . Although these reservists contributed significantly to the defence of CIMIC house , their efforts were largely overshadowed by the regular PWRR ( Y Company ) . External links . Books on the siege