Preparations
In 2007, the Iraqi Army moved 4 brigades, including one of its two tank brigades from the 9th Division, and a special forces battalion to Basra. The existing brigade was transferred to Wasit province to break its ties to militia groups in Basra. The Iraqi National Police also moved two battalions to Basra.
In August 2007, the Iraqi Army established the Basra Operational Command, a Corps-level command in charge of 2 Iraqi Army divisions (the 10th and the 14th), under the command of Lt General Mohan al-Furayji.
The Vice Chief of Staff of the Iraqi Joint Staff said "We do not have enough forces there. That is why we are having a new division, the 14th Division, to be built in Basrah, especially with the possibility that the British might be leaving us in time.". The formation of this new division was not scheduled to be completed before June 2008 and was accelerated to deal with the upcoming operation. The 3rd brigade of the division graduated from the Besmaya Combat Training Center Program on February 13, 2008, five weeks before the battle and the 4th brigade is still forming.
In mid-March, the deputy prime minister, Barham Salih, called for a "very strong military presence in Basra to eradicate the militia". He also indicated possible Coalition force involvement in the plan. On Thursday, March 20, Lt General Mohan al-Furayji warned his troops to prepare for a "final battle" in Basra to defeat Shia militia before provincial elections in October later that year.
On March 22, the Iraqi prime minister Nouri al-Maliki met with the commander of US forces in Iraq, General David Petraeus. During the meeting, al-Maliki explained that the impending operation would be an "entirely Iraqi affair...to take on criminals and gang leaders" in Basra. General Petraeus advised al-Maliki not to rush in to a fight and that the large scale movement of Iraqi forces would put strains on the Iraqi logistical and command and control networks, as well as "putting at risk" a lot of the gains made since the start of the US "Surge" in 2007 by threatening the ceasefire imposed on the Mahdi Army by Muqtada al-Sadr.
The Mahdi Army had long been well-entrenched in their districts with sniper positions, ambush sites, roadside bombs and booby trapped buildings.
During the reign of Saddam Hussein over 202,000 refugees fled Iraq to refugee camps in Iran. Many of the young men and children who lived in these camps were recruited by Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps in anticipation of repatriation back into Iraq. These young men were indoctrinated into so-called Special Groups under command of the Quds force. They were trained in sabotage and told to infiltrate the Mahdi Army. The Special Groups also organized criminal rackets to support their illicit activities and make it easier to smuggle weapons from Iran.
Read more about this topic: Battle Of Basra (2008)
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