A group of approximately 5,000 soldiers comprised of 3,000 Americans and 2,000 Iraqis launched a major offensive against inisurgents in the city of Samarra on October 1, 2004. Troops of the 202nd Iraqi National Guard Battalion, 7th Iraqi Army Battalion, and 1st Infantry Division were part of the attacking force. Samarra had recently been under the control of insurgents and a no-go area for coalition forces. U.S officials estimated that there were anywhere from 500 to 1,000 insurgents entrenched in the city.

The major military offenesive lasted three days and on October 4, 2004 coalition forces were able to claim victory. That same day the U.S military announced that the operation resulted in about 125 rebels killed and 88 were being detained. Iraqi security forces were placed in charge of the city to insure its future stability. Operations in Samarra then shifted to civil-military operations designed at repairing parts of the city's infrastructure and improving basic services.