Al-Faw Peninsula - British and American Occupation

British and American Occupation

The 1991 Gulf War was fought to the south and west of al-Faw, but the peninsula's military installations were heavily bombed by Allied forces during the conflict. The Allied forces effectively closed down all of Iraq's shipping activities, thus rendering its access to the Shatt al-Arab and the Persian Gulf useless.

The peninsula was one of the first targets of the Coalition forces in the 2003 invasion of Iraq, with British, American and Polish troops involved. Forces from the Royal Marines, U.S. Marines and the Polish GROM staged a successful midnight amphibious assault on the peninsula. All were attached to the British 3 Commando Brigade. Their goal was to secure the port of Umm Qasr to allow humanitarian goods to be shipped in, and to secure the key oil installations located in the area before they could be sabotaged by retreating Iraqi forces. The Mina al-Bakr oil terminal was seized by SEAL teams 8 and 10; as well as U.S. Navy EOD personnel. The Khor al-Amaya oil terminal was seized by GROM operators. The peninsula fell quickly with minimal Iraqi resistance, although unexpected fierce resistance in Umm Qasr required several days' fighting before the town was secured.

The British, based at Camp Driftwood, provided the security and counter-smuggling force on land with the US forces providing maritime assistance. Camp Driftwood was handed to Iraqi control in March 2007 by troops from 1st Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment.