In mid-May 2005, Task Force 3/2 and elements of Task Force 3/25 (
3rd Battalion/
2nd Marines,
3rd Battalion/
25th Marines,
4th Assault Amphibian Bn,
2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Bn Bravo Company, B Co
4th Combat Engineer Bn, 2nd Platoon A Co
1st Tank Bn, and a detachment of
H-1's from
HMLA 269) supported by the 163rd Ordnance, conducted a sweep of an insurgent-held area near the
Syrian border. Combat Engineers from 4th CEB breached the river banks followed by 814th Engineer Company (MRB) who built a floating bridge while conducting concurrent rafting. It lasted eleven days, The Marines suffered 9
killed in action and 40
wounded in action. Notable among these casualties was a squad from 1st Platoon, Lima Company of the 3rd Battalion, 25th Marines, which had all of its members killed or wounded, mostly while embarked in an AAV that was struck by an IED. Insurgents' continued presence in the Syrian desert meant that the Syrian border would remain a viable route for smuggling military equipment used by the insurgency. The engagement could loosely be described as a running battle, with the heaviest fighting taking place in urban environments located in
Ubaydi, Arabi, and
Al-Qa'im, all are cities in the insurgent dominated
Al Anbar Governorate.{{cite news ==See also==