of 1, 2, 3, 5 and 8/9 RAR in the years that followed. 8/9 RAR handed over to Army Reserve Task Groups and, after a phased drawdown, the last Australian Defence Force (ADF) elements were withdrawn in 2013. Solomon Islands Events in East Timor largely overshadowed developments in Solomon Islands, where elements of the regiment also served periodically from 2003 onwards with the initial response being provided by 2 RAR. One member of the regiment died during operations in the Solomon Islands. The Regiment subsequently handed over to 2 Div units who saw the mission through to the end. Iraq The regiment had only a minor role in the 2003 invasion of Iraq, providing a force element of about 40 Commandos from 4 RAR to support the Special Forces Task Group, which was based on an SASR Squadron. Following the invasion, the deteriorating security situation in Baghdad saw the deployment of a combined arms Security Detachment (SECDET), charged with protecting the Australian embassy and its personnel. Over a dozen companies of the regiment provided force elements to the various rotations. In February 2005 Prime Minister John Howard committed a battle group to southern Iraq to partially replace a Dutch unit that had been operating in the Governorate of Al Muthanna. The regiment's contribution to the first battle group, initially known as the Al Muthanna Task Group, was a rifle company, although the second and third rotations were led by 5/7 RAR and 2 RAR respectively. When Provincial Iraqi Control was declared in Al Muthanna in July 2006, AMTG 3, led by 2 RAR, was renamed the Overwatch Battle Group (West) (OBG(W)). The fifth battle group to serve in Iraq was based on 5 RAR, by which time OBG(W) was operating in both the Al Muthanna and Dhi Qar Governorates as a part of the British Multi-National Division South East (MND(SE)). (AMTG 1, OBG(W) 2 and OBG(W) 4 were all based on cavalry regiment headquarters). During this time elements of the regiment conducted counterinsurgency operations until withdrawn in mid-2008. Casualties in Iraq included one member of the regiment who was accidentally killed. Afghanistan Meanwhile, a Reconstruction Taskforce (RTF) based around the 1st Combat Engineer Regiment with protective elements from the 5/7 RAR, 6 RAR and 2nd Cavalry Regiment began arriving in Uruzgan Province in southern Afghanistan in early September 2006 as part of Operation Slipper. The RTF formed part of a