[17] In June 2007 as part of a larger country wide offensive, Operation Arrowhead Ripper was launched to gain control of Baqubah and its surrounding areas from the insurgents.

[21] The insurgents fortified the province with observation posts, fighting positions, mines, and booby-trapped houses, as well as establishing supply bases and training camps.

[22][23] A decision was made on 15 March to consolidate the task force and begin clearance operations of the palm groves surrounding Buhriz.

The insurgent forces used a hit and run strategy, employing snipers, mines, prepositioned ambush sites, and escape routes.

Of note, Army medic Christopher Waiters was eventually awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his heroic actions that day which saved the lives of two additional American soldiers in the destroyed Bradley vehicle.

[24][25] Another similar attack initiated by a large deep buried mine killed six American soldiers in a Stryker vehicle on 6 May 2007, along with embedded Russian photojournalist Dmitry Chebotayev.

While clearance of eastern Baqubah was being completed, Task Force Regulars was able to successfully isolate and contain the western half of the city, composed of Mufrek, Mujema, and Khatoon.

[29] In the early morning hours one soldier, from A co 1-12 CAV, was killed when his Bradley fighting vehicle was struck by a large deep buried mine just outside an abandoned clinic on the Southwestern edge of the city.

The local populace talked of things like smoking, women failing to wear appropriate facial and body coverings, or even placing cucumbers too close to tomatoes on a vegetable cart as being very harshly punished.

This was the location of several al-Qaeda detention and torture centers, where punishments handed down by these Islamic courts were carried out.

On 23 June two suspected senior Tanzim Qaidat al-Jihad fi Bilad al-Rafidayn leaders were captured and detained to Baghdad; no further information on their identity has been forthcoming.

On the other hand, the town of Al Khalis, approximately 15 km away, seems to have become a major restaging point for insurgents retreating from Baqubah,[5][7][35] despite the nearby presence of significant U.S. forces at FOB Grizzly and People's Mujahedin of Iran personnel at "Ashraf City".

Residents reported that the shelling was intense,[36] and the Iraqi Islamic Party (ISP) has accused the Multi-National Forces operating in the area of committing a new massacre in Baqubah.

[36] The majority of American shelling and aerial bombardment that occurred during July and August was to defeat the overwhelming number of explosive laden houses, that were rigged and left behind as traps by the fleeing al-Qaeda forces.

16 July, Aco 1-12 Cav members were ambushed while patrolling in insurgent occupied areas of Palm Groves south of Baqubah on the Diyala river.

Based on the number of attacks, and the level of control exerted over the local populace, American Intelligence estimated the enemy strength in Baqubah at approximately 2,000 to 2,500 in March 2007.

As the Islamic State of Iraq considered the town of Baqubah its "capital", presumably most fighters opposing the MNF troops belonged to the Khalf al-Mutayibeen—the alliance of Islamist Sunni groups behind the ISI.