Al Anbar , the only Sunni-dominated province in Iraq , saw little fighting in the initial invasion . Following the fall of Baghdad it was occupied by the U.S. Army 's 82nd Airborne Division . Violence began on 28 April 2003 when 17 Iraqis were killed in Fallujah by U.S. soldiers during an anti-American demonstration . In early 2004 the U.S. Army relinquished command of the governorate to the Marines . By April 2004 the governorate was in full-scale revolt . Savage fighting occurred in both Fallujah and Ramadi by the end of 2004 , including the Second Battle of Fallujah . Violence escalated throughout 2005 and 2006 as the two sides struggled to secure the Western Euphrates River Valley . During this time , Al Qaeda in Iraq ( AQI ) became the governorate 's main Sunni insurgent group and turned the provincial capital of Ramadi into its stronghold . The Marine Corps issued an intelligence report in late 2006 declaring that the governorate would be lost without a significant additional commitment of troops
were killed in Fallujah
Fallujah killings of April 2003
Iraq War in Al Anbar Governorate