Counterinsurgency: It was focused on eliminating insurgents and foreign fighters in a region known as a smuggling route and a sanctuary for foreign fighters.

Marines lead the successful coalition offensive campaign Operation Matador near the Iraq-Syria border. The major offensive included nearly 1,000 troops backed by warplanes and helicopter gunships sweeping through desert outposts along ancient smuggling routes believed to be the staging areas for foreign fighters slipping across the border. Nine Marines were killed and 40 wounded during the fighting.