Operation Plymouth Rock was launched on November 23, 2004, and involved approximately 5,000 troops. This figure included U.S. troops from the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, British troops and Iraqi troops.

The operation focused on the Northern Babil province of Iraq and was aimed at continuing the anti-insurgent effort by coalitoin forces, following Operation al-Fajr conducted in Fallujah. According to MNF-I, the operation began with Iraqi SWAT team, backed by elements of the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, sweeping through the south-central Iraqi town of Jabella. The joint Iraqi-U.S. force captured 32 suspected insurgents, including a number of high-interest individuals, in a series of early-morning raids some 50 miles south of Baghdad.