Al-Karmah, also sometimes transliterated as Karma, Karmah, or Garma (Iraqi Arabic: الگرمة), is a city in central Iraq, 16 km (10 mi) northeast of Fallujah in the province of Al Anbar.

During the Second Battle of Fallujah, residents of Karma funneled weapons and medical aid into the besieged city, proudly proclaiming their allegiance to the insurgency.

In early 2005, a massive vehicle-borne IED was driven into Observation Post 2 Alpha, injuring 4 U.S. Marines from 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marines, Fox Company 3rd Platoon, destroying two ISO containers filled with MREs and bottled water, and damaging the Hesco barriers and concertina lines along the western wall.

It resulted in more barricades and new speed bumps being placed in and around the roads leading to OP-2A and the other observation posts, and the reinstallation of the ground-level M240G.

Later that month, casualties increased among members of the Iraqi 4th Brigade, including two of its combat advisors from the 80th (Blue Ridge) Division, as they slowly took control of the battle space from 2-2 Marines.

[5] On Oct. 21, CPT Tyler Swisher and CPL Benny G. Cockerham III of 2-2 Marines were killed when their vehicle was struck by an improvised explosive device while they were traveling beside a canal.

On November 19, 2005, an insurgent sniper shot and killed a Marine Lance Corporal standing post on the roof of the station.

On December 24, 2005, the Marines of weapons platoon faced a substantial insurgent attack where part of the compound was destroyed from a hand-placed explosive device.

During the attack, a squad of Marines held off the insurgents for over 10 minutes until a vehicle-mounted Quick Reaction Force (QRF) arrived from nearby OP3.

The violence continued, however, with many small-arms ambushes on foot and vehicle patrols, as well as IED attacks frequently utilizing combined arms and mortar attacks on the blast sites, causing multiple Iraqi Army casualties as well as a few combat advisors from the 80th Division.

They would patrol Route Michigan, which connected Abu-Gharib and Camp India with Fallujah, as well as the roads and villages around Al-Karmah, establish check points, conduct raids, ambushes, and sweeps, and co-opt the civilian population that was mixed Sunni-Shia Arab.

Members from SEAL Teams 3 and 5 cooperated with the Iraqi 4th Brigade while conducting combat operations in and around Karmah.

The Fallujah Area of Responsibility, which controlled the Iraqi 4th Brigade, was now under Regimental Combat Team-5 under then-COL Lawrence D. Nicholson (who later commanded Task Force Leatherneck and the 2d Marine Expeditionary Brigade in Helmand Province while serving as Deputy Commander for Operations of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan).

partner battalion commander said that if the Iraqi soldiers could receive U.S. heroism awards, he would have submitted the captain for a Navy Cross.

On May 11, 2006 seven U.S. service members died in Iraq, including four Marines who drowned when their tank rolled off a small engineer bridge near Al-Karmah.

[17][18] On December 25, 2006 three companies from the Army's 3/509th PIR 4th BCT (Airborne) 25th Infantry Division were moved from FOB Kalsu, to Al-Karmah.

Two days later, on December 30, 2006, Corporal Dustin Donica was killed by an insurgent sniper while building a fortification on the roof of OP Delta.

Eleven days later, a National Guard humvee was reported destroyed, with insurgents claiming all aboard were killed.

On June 26, 2008, three Marines from 2nd Battalion 3rd Marines (including the battalion's commanding officer), 20 Iraqi sheiks, the mayor of Karmah, and two interpreters were killed when a suicide bomber dressed as an Iraqi Policeman detonated an explosive vest at a meeting of tribal sheiks.

[25] On December 21, 2008, Lance Corporal Thomas J. Reilly with 1st Battalion 3rd Marine Regiment, C Company’s 2nd Platoon, was killed in action during a patrol in Karmah, Iraq.