part_of battle of najaf 
The Battle of Najaf was a major battle in the ___MASK66___ . The first stage of the battle was fought when the US 3rd Infantry Division fought to surround the town . The second stage was fought when soldiers from the U . S . 101st Airborne Division fought to clear and secure ___MASK94___ . ___MASK2___ (' ;) is a ___MASK69___ articulated by the Quran , a text considered by its adherents to be the verbatim word of God ('), and , for the vast majority of adherents , the teachings and normative example ( called the " sunnah ", composed of accounts called " hadith ") of Muhammad ( 570  8 June 632 CE ). It is the world ' s second - largest ___MASK69___ and the fastest - growing major ___MASK69___ in the world , with over 1 . 7 billion followers or 23 % of the global population , known as Muslims . ___MASK2___ is an Abrahamic monotheistic ___MASK69___ that upholds that God is one and incomparable and that the purpose of existence is to worship God . Muslims consider Muhammad to be the last prophet of God . Poland , officially ___MASK44___ of Poland , is a ___MASK92___ in Central ___MASK100___ , situated between the Baltic ___MASK37___ in the north and two mountain ranges ( the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains ) in the south . Bordered by Germany to the west ; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south ; Ukraine and Belarus to the east ; and the Baltic ___MASK37___ , Kaliningrad Oblast ( a ___MASK12___ exclave ) and Lithuania to the north . The total area of Poland is , making it the 69th largest ___MASK92___ in the world and the 9th largest in ___MASK100___ . With a population of over 38 . 5 million people , Poland is the 34th most populous ___MASK92___ in the world , the 8th most populous ___MASK92___ in ___MASK100___ and the sixth most populous member of the European Union . Poland is a unitary state divided into 16 administrative subdivisions , and its capital and largest city is Warsaw . Other metropolises include Kraków , Wrocaw , Pozna , Gdask and Szczecin . Baghdad is the capital of ___MASK44___ of Iraq . The ___MASK15___ of Baghdad , , is approximately 7 . 216 . 040 making it the largest city in Iraq , the second largest city in the Arab world ( after Cairo , Egypt ), and the second largest city in Western ___MASK81___ ( after Tehran , Iran ). The ___MASK77___ was a protracted armed conflict that began in 2003 with the invasion of Iraq by a United States - led coalition that toppled the government of Saddam Hussein . The conflict continued for much of the next decade as an insurgency emerged to oppose the occupying forces and the post - invasion Iraqi government . An estimated 151 , 000 to 600 , 000 or more Iraqis were killed in the first 3  4 years of conflict . The United States officially withdrew from the country in 2011 but left private security contractors in its place to continue the war . It again became re - involved in 2014 at the head of a new coalition ; the insurgency and many dimensions of the civil armed conflict continue . The ___MASK19___ ( USA ) is the largest branch of the United States ___MASK28___ and performs land - based military operations . It is one of the seven uniformed services of the United States and is designated as the Army of the United States in the ___MASK61___ , Article 2 , Section 2 , Clause 1 and United States Code , Title 10 , Subtitle B , Chapter 301 , Section 3001 . As the largest and senior branch of the U . S . military , the modern U . S . Army has its roots in the Continental Army , which was formed ( 14 June 1775 ) to fight the American Revolutionary War ( 1775  1783 ) before the U . S . was established as a country . After the Revolutionary War , the Congress of the Confederation created the ___MASK19___ on 3 June 1784 , to replace the disbanded Continental Army . The ___MASK19___ considers itself descended from the Continental Army , and dates its institutional inception from the origin of that armed force in 1775 . Foreign internal defense ( FID ) is a term used by a number of Western nations , including the United States , ___MASK1___ and the United Kingdom , to describe an integrated and synchronized , multi - disciplinary ( and often ___MASK22___ , interagency , and international as well ) approach to combating actual or threatened insurgency in a foreign state . This foreign state is known as the Host Nation ( HN ) under US ( and generally accepted NATO ) doctrine . The term counter - insurgency is more commonly used worldwide than FID . FID involves ___MASK85___ deployment of counter - insurgency specialists . According to the US doctrinal manual , " Joint Publication 3 - 22 : Foreign Internal Defense ( FID )", those specialists preferably do not themselves fight the insurgents . Doctrine calls for a close working relationship between the HN ___MASK90___ and security forces with outside diplomatic , information , intelligence , ___MASK85___ , economic , and other specialists . The most successful FID actions suppress actual violence ; when combat operations are needed , HN security forces take the lead , with appropriate external support , the external support preferably being in a noncombat support and training role alone . ___MASK79___ , officially the Commonwealth of ___MASK79___ , is a country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent , the island of Tasmania and numerous smaller islands . It is the world ' s sixth - largest country by total area . The neighbouring countries are Papua New Guinea , Indonesia and East Timor to the north ; the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu to the north - east ; and New Zealand to the south - east . ___MASK79___ ' s capital is Canberra , and its largest urban area is Sydney . Afghanistan ( Pashto / Dari : , " Afnistn "), officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan , is a landlocked ___MASK92___ located within South ___MASK81___ and Central ___MASK81___ . It has a population of approximately 32 million , making it the 42nd most populous ___MASK92___ in the world . It is bordered by Pakistan in the south and east ; Iran in the west ; Turkmenistan , Uzbekistan , and Tajikistan in the north ; and ___MASK53___ in the far northeast . Its territory covers , making it the 41st largest ___MASK92___ in the world . Light infantry ( or skirmishers ) are soldiers whose job was to provide a skirmishing screen ahead of the main ___MASK17___ of infantry , harassing and delaying the enemy advance . Light infantry was distinct from ___MASK96___ , heavy or line infantry . Heavy infantry were dedicated primarily to fighting in tight formations that were the core of large battles . Light infantry fought in open - ___MASK45___ , often in close co - ordination with heavy infantry , where they could screen the heavy infantry from harassing fire , and the heavy infantry could intervene to protect the light infantry from attacks of enemy heavy infantry or cavalry . Heavy infantry originally had heavier arms and more armour than light infantry , but this distinction was lost as the use of armour declined and gunpowder weapons became standardized . The ___MASK66___ lasted from 20 March to 1 May 2003 and signalled the start of the ___MASK77___ , which was dubbed Operation Iraqi Freedom by the United States ( prior to 19 March , the mission in Iraq was called Operation Enduring Freedom , a carryover from the War in Afghanistan ). The invasion consisted of 21 days of major combat operations , in which a combined force of troops from the United States , the United Kingdom , Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and deposed the Ba ' athist government of Saddam Hussein . The invasion phase consisted primarily of a conventionally fought war which included the capture of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad by American forces with the implicit assistance of the United Kingdom alongside Australia and Poland . The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern ___MASK26___ , commonly known as the United Kingdom ( UK ) or Britain , is a sovereign country in western ___MASK100___ . Lying off the north - western coast of the European mainland , it includes the island of Great Britain ( the name of which is also loosely applied to the whole country ), the north - eastern ___MASK5___ of the island of ___MASK26___ , and many smaller islands . Northern ___MASK26___ is the only ___MASK5___ of the UK that shares a land border with another sovereign statethe Republic of ___MASK26___ . Apart from this land border , the UK is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean , with the North ___MASK37___ to its east , the English Channel to its south and the Celtic ___MASK37___ to its south - south - west , giving it the 12th - longest coastline in the world . The Irish ___MASK37___ lies between Great Britain and ___MASK26___ . With an area of , the UK is the 78th - largest sovereign state in the world and the 11th - largest in ___MASK100___ . It is also the 21st - most populous country , with an estimated 65 . 1 million inhabitants . Together , this makes it the fourth most densely populated country in the ___MASK7___ . Saddam Hussein Abd al - Majid al - Tikriti ( ___MASK49___ : ""; 28 April ___MASK76___  30 ___MASK82___ 2006 ) was the fifth President of Iraq , serving in this capacity from ___MASK36___ July 1979 until 9 April 2003 . A leading member of the revolutionary Arab Socialist Ba ' ath Party , and later , the Baghdad - based Ba ' ath Party and its regional organization the Iraqi Ba ' ath Party  which espoused Ba ' athism , a mix of Arab nationalism and socialism  Saddam played a key role in the 1968 coup ( later referred to as the 17 July Revolution ) that brought the party to power in Iraq . Shia (" Shah ", from " Shatu Al ", followers of Ali ) is a branch of ___MASK2___ which holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib as his successor ( Imam ). ___MASK68___ primarily contrasts with Sunni ___MASK2___ , whose adherents believe that Muhammad did not appoint a successor . Instead they consider Abu Bakr ( who was appointed Caliph through a Shura , i . e . consensus ) to be the correct Caliph . Counter - terrorism ( also spelled counterterrorism ) ( also called anti - terrorism ) incorporates the practice , ___MASK85___ tactics , techniques , and strategy that ___MASK90___ , ___MASK85___ , law enforcement , business , and intelligence agencies use to combat or prevent terrorism . Counter - terrorism strategies include attempts to counter financing of terrorism . Najaf Governorate (" An Najaf ") ( or Najaf Province ) is a governorate in central and southern Iraq . The capital is ___MASK94___ of Najaf . The other major city is Al Kufah . Both cities are holy to Shia Muslims , who form the majority of the ___MASK15___ . Prior to 1976 it was part of the Karbala Governorate . Najaf ( BGN : " An Najaf ") is a ___MASK72___ in central Iraq about 160 km ( roughly 100 miles ) south of Baghdad . Its estimated ___MASK15___ in 2013 was 1 , 000 , 000 people . It is the capital of Najaf Governorate . It is widely considered the third holiest ___MASK72___ of ___MASK68___ , the Shia world  s spiritual capital and the center of Shi ' a political power in Iraq . The 101st Airborne ___MASK23___ (" Screaming Eagles ") is an elite modular specialized light infantry ___MASK23___ of the ___MASK19___ trained for air assault operations . It is the most potent and the most tactically mobile of the U . S . Army ' s divisions . The 101st Airborne at a moment ' s notice is able to plan , coordinate , and execute brigade - size air assault operations capable of seizing key terrain in support of operational objectives . The 101st Airborne ___MASK23___ is capable of working in austere environments with limited or degraded infrastructure . Its unique battlefield mobility and high level of training have kept the 101st Airborne ___MASK23___ in the vanguard of America ' s land combat forces in recent conflicts . More recently , the 101st Airborne has been performing foreign internal defense and counter - terrorism operations within Iraq and Afghanistan . Iraq (, or ; '; '), officially known as ___MASK44___ of Iraq ('; ') is a ___MASK92___ in Western ___MASK81___ , bordered by Turkey to the north , Iran to the east , Kuwait to the southeast , Saudi Arabia to the south , Jordan to the southwest , and Syria to the west . The capital , and largest city , is Baghdad . The main ethnic groups are Arabs and Kurds ; others include Assyrians , Turkmen , Shabakis , Yazidis , Armenians , Mandeans , Circassians , and Kawliya . Around 95 % of the ___MASK92___ ' s 36 million citizens are Muslims , with Christianity , Yarsan , Yezidism , and Mandeanism also present . The official languages of Iraq are Arabic and Kurdish . Air assault is the movement of ground - based ___MASK85___ forces by vertical take - off and landing ( VTOL ) aircraft  such as the helicopter  to seize and hold key terrain which has not been fully secured , and to directly engage enemy forces behind enemy lines . In addition to regular infantry training , air - assault units usually receive training in rappelling and air transportation , and their equipment is sometimes designed or field - modified to allow better transportation within aircraft .