8 JAN--This Day in US Military History

2008 – Operation Phantom Phoenix, a major nation-wide offensive launched by the Multinational Force Iraq (MNF-I) in an attempt to build on the success of the two previous corps-level operations, Operation Phantom Thunder and Operation Phantom Strike and further reduce violence and secure Iraq’s population, particularly in the capital Baghdad, begins.

The offensive consisted of a number of joint Coalition and Iraqi Army operations throughout northern Iraq as well as in the southern Baghdad Belts. The northern operation was designated Operation Iron Harvest. Its objective was to hunt down the remaining 200 Al-Qaeda extremists remaining in the province of Diyala following the end of the previous offensive.
The operation also included targeting insurgent elements in Salah ad-Din province and Nineveh province. The southern operation was designated Operation Marne Thunderbolt and targeted insurgent safe havens in the belts to the south-east of Baghdad, particularly the Arab Jabour region.
Additionally, Phantom Phoenix’s aims were the remaining car, truck and suicide bomb networks in Baghdad as well as al-Qaeda’s financial network.

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