Operation Marne Avalanche was a US military operation that occurred in southern Baghdad

Baghdad

Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...

 in July 2007 as part of Operation Phantom Thunder

Operation Phantom Thunder

Operation Phantom Thunder began on June 16, 2007, when Multi-National Force-Iraq launched major offensive operations against al-Qaeda and other extremist terrorists operating throughout Iraq...

. The goal of the offensive operation was to stop southern Baghdad from being used as a safe haven and to prevent the movement of weapons, munitions and insurgent

Iraqi insurgency

The Iraqi Resistance is composed of a diverse mix of militias, foreign fighters, all-Iraqi units or mixtures opposing the United States-led multinational force in Iraq and the post-2003 Iraqi government...

 activity into Baghdad.

Operation details

The operation’s intent was to improve security conditions in southern Baghdad and reduce the influence of insurgents in the area. Another goal of the operation was to stanche the flow of weapons into Baghdad.

Marne Avalanche built on the successes of Task Force Marne’s offensive operation, Marne Torch

Operation Marne Torch

Operation Marne Torch refers to two operations launched by Coalition forces in 2007 against al-Qaeda in Iraq in the Arab Jabour area of Babil province...

, which began June 16, 2007. Operation Marne Torch resulted in more than 1,152 structures cleared, 83 suspected insurgents killed, 278 suspected insurgents detained, 51 weapons caches found, 51 boats destroyed and 872 Iraqi citizens entered in a biometric identification system.