Haditha
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Haditha (حديثة) is a city in the Iraqi province of Al Anbar, about 140 miles northwest of Baghdad. It is a farming town on the Euphrates River with a population of around 90,000.
Iraq war
Haditha was occupied by U.S. soldiers in April 2003 following the invasion of Iraq; they secured a large, multi mile wide dam in the north of the town that could have been blown up by Iraqi forces. Such an attack would have severely flooded towns alomg the Euphates south of Haditha. As the fighting continued following the fall of Saddam Hussein, Haditha became a center for insurgent activity. It lies between Al-Qaim, an insurgent entry point, and Baghdad.
In May 2005, U.S. forces launched Operation New Market in Haditha against the insurgents controlling the city. However, resistance continued. On August 1, 2005, an ambush killed six American soldiers in the city; on August 3, a roadside bomb killed 14 U.S. Marines and their interpreter.
The town remains under control of the Iraqi insurgency. Like Qaim, it has come under a Taliban-like rule, with Western-style items banned and insurgents collecting the salaries of government employees.
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