On January 29, 1991, the Battle of Khafji begins in Khafji, Saudi Arabia, during the Gulf War. On the night of January 29, Iraqi armored and mechanized forces advanced across the border into Saudi Arabia in three columns with the objective of taking the Saudi city of Khaji and drawing the Coalition forces into a costly engagement. The first and second of these columns engaged US Marines stationed at observation posts near the border. The Marines, supported by substantial air support ranging from Harrier and F-15E strike aircraft to AC-130 gunships to A-10 ground attack aircraft, were able to repel both columns after heavy fighting. The third column, however, advanced towards the city of Khafji with light opposition from the Saudi Arabian forces assigned to the sector, who had been ordered to not engage the advancing Iraqi forces. Despite fire from an AC-130, the Iraqi column successfully captured the city shortly after midnight on January 30.
In the evening of January 30, a joint Saudi Arabian/Qatari/American force advanced towards the city with the goal of retaking it from Iraqi occupation. Saudi and Qatari ground forces, aided by US Marine special forces and artillery and Coalition aircraft, encircled the city, preventing Iraqi reinforcement from arriving. After heavy fighting, the city was successfully retaken on February 1. By the end of the battle, Coalition forces had suffered 43 killed and 52 wounded. Among these casualties were 25 Americans killed, 11 of whom were killed in friendly-fire incidents and a further 14 killed when an AC-130 had remained in the area after daybreak and was downed by Iraqi surface-to-air missile (SAM). The Coalition's Arab forces had suffered 18 killed and 50 wounded as well as the loss of several armored vehicles. Estimates of Iraqi losses vary depending upon source with Iraqi sources claiming 71 killed, 148 wounded, and 702 missing while Coalition sources claim up to 300 killed and 400 captured. More importantly, the bulk of three Iraqi armored/mechanized divisions had been destroyed and the perception of the Iraqi army as being an exceptionally difficult foe had been broken. On February 24, the ground invasion of Iraq by Coalition forces began. The war would end ~100 hours later with a Coalition victory.
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