Battle of Donkey Island

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Battle of Donkey Island
Part of the Iraq War
Date 30 June – 1 July 2007 Location Ramadi, Iraq Result US Victory
Belligerents
United States	Islamic state of Iraq
Units involved
1-77 Armor Regiment 2nd Battalion 5th Marines	1-149 Aviation Battalion
Strength
30–50 soldiers	40–70 fighters
Casualties and losses
2 killed, 11 wounded	32 killed

The Battle of Donkey Island was a skirmish that occurred on 30 June and 1 July 2007 between elements of the U.S. Army Task Force 1-77 Armor Regiment, the 2nd Battalion 5th Marines and a numerically superior force of al-Qaeda in Iraq insurgents on the banks of a canal leading from Ramadi to Lake Habbaniyah in the Al-Anbar province of Iraq.^[1][2]

Official reports of the clash indicate that the U.S. force suffered 2 soldiers dead and 11 wounded, while an estimated 32 insurgents were killed (out of an estimated force of 40–70 fighters). From a military perspective, the battle was a complete victory for the U.S. forces, which detected and defeated an insurgent force before it could launch a planned assault on Ramadi. From a political perspective, the action revealed the continuing ability of al-Qaeda in Iraq to plan and assemble forces in their attempt to destabilize the Anbar region.