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The Navy’s next amphibious assault ship will be named after the city of Fallujah, which saw some of the bloodiest battles in the Iraq war when U.S. Marines fought al-Qaida extremists in deadly house-to-house combat.
Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro said the USS Fallujah will commemorate what have become known as the “First and Second Battles of Fallujah, » following the tradition of naming the assault ships after Marine Corps battles or other early sailing ships and aircraft carriers.
“It is an honor to memorialize the Marines, soldiers, and coalition partners that fought valiantly and those that sacrificed their lives during both battles of Fallujah,” Del Toro said in a statement Tuesday.
Located about 45 miles (65 kilometers) from Baghdad, the city became the base for an anti-government Sunni insurgency after the U.S.-led invasion in 2003 toppled Saddam Hussein. Al-Qaida militants, who rose up against the Shiite-dominated government in Baghdad, fought two bloody battles with U.S. troops in Fallujah in 2004 that killed more than 100 Americans and wounded more than 1,000.
The first battle of Fallujah was triggered by increasing violence in the city including the deaths of five U.
