U.S. troops battle insurgents in Fallujah.
"We don't want them to leave Fallujah. We want to kill them here."
—First Infantry Lt. Col. Pete Newell, quoted in the November 9 edition of The Philadelphia Inquirer
Authorized by the interim Iraqi government, Operation Phantom Fury is a U.S.-led, joint U.S.-Iraqi attack against insurgent strongholds in Fallujah, which results in a military victory for the U.S. The victory comes at a cost, though. One marine is initially suspected —though later acquitted— of killing a wounded, unarmed prisoner in a mosque. The Red Cross claims that some 800 Iraqi civilians were killed in the brutal fighting. And in December, it is reported that the U.S. used White Phosphorus to help defeat the insurgents.