Diyala province, once the stronghold of al Qaeda in Iraq, remains a major focus of Operation Phantom Thunder, the overarching security operation to eject al Qaeda from the Baghdad Belts. As operations in Baqubah, once the capital of al Qaeda in Iraq’s puppet state, have “shifted from combat operations to reconstruction and humanitarian missions,” offensives in the outlying areas of the provincial capitol have increased.

U.S. Marines cross the Pegasus Bridge. Photo: Sgt. Andy Hurt.