Battle of Al Kut
The Battle of Al Kut was a coordinated Iraqi uprising, launched near the beginning of the Iraq War by Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.
In April 2004, followers of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr launched a well-coordinated uprising across southern Iraq. While Western media focused on events in Sadr City, Najaf, and Karbala, violence occurred elsewhere as well. A Coalition Provisional Authority source forwarded the following after-action report regarding violence in the town of Al-Kut, the capital of the Wassit Governorate and home to the Ukrainian contingent. After withdrawal of Ukrainian forces and contractors, the CPA Compound was recaptured and secured by 2/6 Inf. The unit had clashed with Sadr's Army in Najaf days before and convoyed over 200 km to retake the city from the insurgents.
The unclassified report, written by a coalition security contractor, highlights dysfunction between regional coalition offices and the Coalition Provisional Authority headquarters in Baghdad, as well as tension between diplomats and security officers. The summary faulted a British diplomat who had "toned down" reports of Islamist activity so as not to alarm superiors in Baghdad. The report gave a minute-by-minute update of the battle.
