The 2008 Al-Qaeda offensive in Iraq refers to a month-long offensive conducted by Al-Qaeda in Iraq against Coalition troops in Iraq in 2008.
The offensive officially started on April 19, 2008, when the leader of Al-Qaeda in Iraq, Ayyub al-Masri, called for a month-long offensive against U.S. and Iraqi forces. However, it is generally considered to have started four days earlier when a series of suicide bombings in four major cities killed nearly 60 people.
Shortly following al-Masri's announcement a steady bombing campaign commenced against Coalition forces. The series of bombings raised fears that remaining Sunni insurgents, that were still fighting the central government, were regrouping following their major defeat during Operation Phantom Phoenix earlier that year that left them with only one mayor urban stronghold in the north, in Mosul.
The offensive ended after a month with no clear gains for either side.
Read more about 2008 Al-Qaeda Offensive In Iraq: Timeline of Major Attacks During The Offensive
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