Operation Iron Hammer's objective was to prevent the staging of weapons by insurgents, target enemy operating areas and destroy enemy forces before they could attack by using overwhelming force. This was also a joint operation between the Army, Air Force and Iraqi Civil Defense Corps.

On November 12, 2003 the 1st Armored Division's 3rd Brigade began their assault on the city of Baghdad targeting Saddam loyalists and other insurgents. The days leading up to Operation Iron Hammer had seen an increased wave of violence against coalition forces. Major attacks on coalition forces included firing on U.S supply convoys in Samarra, an attack on an Iraqi police station that left two policemen wounded and a roadside bomb explosion which targeted a British civilian convoy. However, the most devastating attack was the assassination of Hmud Kadhim, the Education Ministry's director general in the Diwaniyah province in the southern town of Diwaniyah.

Many of the targeted buildings were likely used as staging grounds by insurgents and were deemed named areas of interest. The overwhelming technology and force used in Operation Iron Hammer resulted in the destruction of many buildings in Baghdad including an abandoned dye factory and was a departure from previous search and seizure operations. Advanced munitions such as 2,000-pound satellite-guided bombs were dropped on suspected IED making camps and 1,000-pound bombs were dropped on terrorist targets in Kirkuk. CENTCOM also announced coordinated U.S strikes including an AC-130 gunship crew and Army soldiers leveled a warehouse that had been used by insurgents. Other targets in Tikrit, Baqouba and Fallujah were also taken out by heavy artillery, battle tanks, attack helicopters, F-16 fighter-bombers and gunships. With Operation Iron Hammer the military began to utilize pre-emptive bombings on targets.

This was the largest post-Saddam Hussein engagement for coalition forces. In late November 2003, coalition forces engaged insurgent forces, in a planned attack, in which scores of Fedayeen-like troops were routed or destroyed.