The Ramadan Offensive was a series of insurgent attacks against Coalition and Iraqi military targets from the end of October and during much of November 2003.

The attacks are called the Ramadan Offensive because they were conducted during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan

Ramadan

Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, which lasts 29 or 30 days. It is the Islamic month of fasting, in which participating Muslims refrain from eating, drinking, smoking and sex during daylight hours and is intended to teach Muslims about patience, spirituality, humility and...

. The number of insurgent attacks increased during this period mainly because of the belief among the insurgent forces that fighting a foreign occupation force during Islam's holy month puts a believer especially close to God.

Offensive starts and the al-Rashid Hotel attack

On the morning of October 26, 2003 as Ramadan started so did the insurgent offensive. That morning in the early hours in Baghdad insurgents fired an improvised multiple-tube launcher mounted in a trailer that was made up to look like a mobile generator, about 400 meters from the al-Rashid Hotel. Where, at the time, U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz was staying. Eight to ten rockets hit the hotel killing one U.S. soldier and wounding 15 people, including seven American civilians and four soldiers. Several more rockets were fired but missed their target. Wolfowitz was on the 12th floor of the hotel, which houses U.S. and coalition officials in Baghdad, and on the side of the hotel that came under attack. The rockets reached only as high as the 11th floor.

Baghdad bombings

At the start of the offensive on October 27, 2003 insurgents staged a coordinated suicide attack targeting the Red Cross compound, and four Iraqi police stations in 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...

. The bombings all occurred within about 45 minutes of each other. Four suicide bombers died but the fifth, a Syrian

Demographics of Syria

Syrians today are an overall indigenous Levantine people. While modern-day Syrians are commonly described as Arabs by virtue of their modern-day language and bonds to Arab culture and history...

, who attempted to blow up the fourth police station failed after the man's car apparently failed to explode. He was shot and wounded by the Iraqi police and arrested. The attacks killed 35 people, as well as injuring 244. Among the dead were also 2 U.S. soldiers.

Italian military police headquarters destroyed

On November 12, 2003 a suicide bomber in a tanker truck attacked the Italian military police headquarters in Nasiriyah destroying it and killing 28 people, including 17 Italians soldiers and 2 Italian civilians.

The attack was the worst incident involving Italian soldiers since Operation Restore Hope in Somalia

Somalia

Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...

 and the highest loss of Italian soldiers since World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. The attack thus shocked Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 and plunged it into a three-day mourning period. The soldiers were given a state funeral

State funeral

A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of protocol, held to honor heads of state or other important people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive elements of military tradition...

.

Helicopter downings

During this time a number of U.S. military helicopters were shot down resulting in a large number of casualties inflicted on the U.S. forces. Three UH-60 Black Hawks and one CH-47D Chinook

CH-47 Chinook

The Boeing CH-47 Chinook is an American twin-engine, tandem rotor heavy-lift helicopter. Its top speed of 170 knots is faster than contemporary utility and attack helicopters of the 1960s...

 were downed killing 39 soldiers and wounding 31. Two of the helicopters were downed using Strela rocket launchers that most likely got to the insurgents vie the Black market.

A day before the start of the offensive, on October 25, 2003 one more UH-60 Black Hawk was shot down wounding 5 soldiers.

Aftermath

Many people compared the Ramadan Offensive with the Tet Offensive of 1968 in the Vietnam war. Some also said that the similarities to Tet were chilling. In 1968, the attacks came at the onset of the Vietnamese New Year, a holiday that American command believed would herald a temporary quieting of the violence. In Iraq, these attacks came at the beginning of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. The American command in Baghdad believed the holiday would bring a slacking of the attacks that had been plaguing American forces. This assumption ran so strong that the Baghdad curfew was partially lifted by American forces. The most pointed similarity was clear: These attacks were meant to cause a political reaction. The United States military, on the whole, will not be undermined by the attacks. The political ramifications, however, remain to be seen.