Election of 2005 in the iraq

An Iraqi Army unit prepares to board a Task Force Baghdad UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter for a counterinsurgency mission in Baghdad.
On jan 31, an election for a government to draft a permanent constitution took place. Although some violence and lack of widespread Sunni Arab participation marred the event, most of the eligible Kurd and Shia populace participated. February, March and April proved to be relatively peaceful months compared to the carnage of November and January, with insurgent attacks averaging 30 a day from the prior average of 70.. Suicide bombers, believed to be mainly disheartened Iraqi Sunni Arabs, Syrians and Saudis, tore through Iraq. Fighters armed with flak jacket(unseen in the insurgency before this time) and using sophisticated tactics met the Marines, eventually inflicting 31 U.S. casualties by the operation's end, and suffering 125 casualties themselves. The Marines were unable to recapture the region due to their limited numbers and the continual insurgent IED attacks and ambushes. The operation continued all the way to the Syrian border, where they were forced to stop (Syrian residents living near the border heard the American bombs very clearly during the operation.