U.S. Marines of Weapons Company, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force (I MEF) take position during an all-out military offensive against Iraqi insurgents north east of Fallujah, Al Anbar governorate, Iraq on Nov. 9, 2004. Located some 40 miles west of the Iraqi capital, Fallujah has been the epicenter of a resistance that has dogged U.S. and Iraqi forces for over a year. On the eve of November 8th, in an attempt to recapture the city, Operation Phantom Fury commenced and coalition troops pushed into the area from the west and south. Soon, combat engulfed the forces' advance, as insurgents engaged them with sniper fire and RPGs in one of the fiercest battles yet. © Franco Pagetti/VII

Falluja, Iraq, November 12, 2004 U.S. Marines with the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force (I MEF), Lima Company and Weapons Company arresting suspected insurgents in Faluja © Franco Pagetti VII

During the massive U.S. attack on the al Qaeda stronghold of Tall Afar, soldiers of the 1st and 3rd U.S. Special Forces Groups, soldiers of the Blue Platoon, Grim Troop, Sabre Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, and Iraqi special forces of the 36th Commando Brigade and soldiers of the 2nd Iraqi Army Division search for insurgents in Tall Afar, Ninawa governorate, Iraq on Sept. 4, 2005. On days two and three of the attack, the soldiers cleared Shiite Turkoman civilians from their homes in the city's south. Their homes line what U.S. planners dubbed 'Route Corvette'. Soon, combat engulfed the forces' northern advance towards 'Route Barracuda', the gateway to the al Qaeda stronghold in the Sarai district, as insurgents engaged them with sniper fire and RPGs from rooftops and windows along the ancient winding laneways. Civilians not yet cleared were caught in the crossfire, rushing past the battling soldiers even as insurgents were taken prisoner in the midst of the fight. © Franco Pagetti/VII

Smoke fills the air on the battle-charred streets of Tall Afar, Ninawa governorate, Iraq on Sept. 10, 2005. In 36 hours this week alone, three U.S. soldiers died in these streets, one of them a pilot whose reconnaissance helicopter was shot down like so many others before. In Iraq's north east corner close to the Syrian border, Tall Afar is a city under seige. Held and ruled like a fiefdom for months by al-Qaeda forces. U.S. and Iraqi soldiers pushed into the ancient Iraqi city near the Syrian border from the south, clearing a mostly Shiite area first on their march north through the streets to the stronghold district of Sarai. © Franco Pagetti/VII

A body rests on a gurney at the Yarmouk hospital morgue in Baghdad, Iraq on July 26, 2006. Parents make a pilgrimage here every day in search of lost relatives that have disappeared during the night. Last night alone, 19 bodies were found in different neighborhoods throughout the city as a result of the sectarian bloodshed that is plaguing the country. © Franco Pagetti/VII

Soldiers from the 2nd Platoon 'Smash Platoon', 2nd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, perform a target raid in Samarra, Salah ad Din province, Iraq on Sept, 28, 2007. This is the last mission for the 'Smash Platoon' before returning to the U.S. © Franco Pagetti/VII

Soldiers from the 2nd Platoon 'Smash Platoon', 2nd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, perform a target raid where they have arrested two al Qaeda supporters in Samarra, Salah ad Din province, Iraq on Sept, 28, 2007. This is the last mission for the 'Smash Platoon' before returning to the U.S. © Franco Pagetti/VII

A soldier of Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment “Gimlets,” 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, attached to the 4th Infantry Division’s 3rd Brigade Combat Team, and Iraqi soliders of the 24th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division, carries a child during a raid in Abu Ghraib, Anbar province, Iraq on April 6, 2008. The raid began before dawn this morning in which they sought out "high-value" al Qaeda targets involved in kidnapping and murder.  They searched several houses but did not find the suspects they were looking for. © Franco Pagetti/VII