Operation Viking Hammer

Operation Viking Hammer
	Part of Kurdistan Islamist Conflict and 2003 invasion of Iraq
	; Halabja city
Date	March 28–30, 2003
Location	Around Halabja, Iraq
Result	American-Peshmerga victory End of the Islamic Emirate of Byara;
Belligerents
United States; Peshmerga PUK;	Islamic Emirate of Byara; Supported by:; Iran (alleged by Peshmerga)
Commanders and leaders
Kenneth E. Tovo; Jalal Talabani	Mullah Krekar; Abu Abdullah al-Shafi'i; Ali Bapir
Units involved
US Army Special Forces; CIA SAD; CTG	Ansar al-Islam; Kurdistan Islamic Group
Strength
70 Americans (60 U.S. Army Special Forces members and 10 CIA SAD agents); 7,000 Peshmerga	600–800 fighters
Casualties and losses
3 killed, 23 wounded	150–200 killed, remainder captured or fled to Iran; 100 killed

Operation Viking Hammer was an unconventional warfare operation during the Iraq War which took place in northern Iraq, commonly known as Iraqi Kurdistan. The goal of the operation was to eliminate Ansar al-Islam and dismantle the Islamic Emirate of Byara. Ansar al-Islam was established by former Al-Qaeda members in 2001 as a Kurdish Salafist movement that imposed a strict application of Sharia in villages it controlled.

^ Masters of Chaos, Chapter 13 Archived 2012-02-14 at the Wayback Machine
^ "Iraqi political groupings and individuals". middleeastreference.org.uk. Archived from the original on 2007-03-05.
^ Masters of Chaos, Chapter 13 p. 7 Archived 2012-02-14 at the Wayback Machine
^ Peltier, Isaac J. "Surrogate Warfare: The Role of U.S. Army Special Forces". p. 35. Archived from the original on 2009-02-11.
^ ^a ^b The Christian Science Monitor (16 October 2003). "The rise and fall of Ansar al-Islam". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
^ http://sofrep.com/7160/operation-viking-hammer/#!prettyPhoto[post_content]/10 Killed,13 wounded/
^ Masters of Chaos, Chapter 13 p. 28 Archived 2012-02-14 at the Wayback Machine

[Masters_of_Chaos,_Chapter_13-1] Masters of Chaos, Chapter 13 Archived 2012-02-14 at the Wayback Machine

[2] "Iraqi political groupings and individuals". middleeastreference.org.uk. Archived from the original on 2007-03-05.

[Masters_of_Chaos,_Chapter_13_p._7-3] Masters of Chaos, Chapter 13 p. 7 Archived 2012-02-14 at the Wayback Machine

[MajPeltier-4] Peltier, Isaac J. "Surrogate Warfare: The Role of U.S. Army Special Forces". p. 35. Archived from the original on 2009-02-11.

[thechristiansciencemonitor-5] The Christian Science Monitor (16 October 2003). "The rise and fall of Ansar al-Islam". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 1 May 2016.

[6] ttp://sofrep.com/7160/operation-viking-hammer/#!prettyPhoto[post_content]/10 Killed,13 wounded/

[7] Masters of Chaos, Chapter 13 p. 28 Archived 2012-02-14 at the Wayback Machine

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