Events in the year 2020 in

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...

Incumbents

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Barham Salih Barham Salih ( ku, بەرھەم ساڵح, Berhem Salih; ar, برهم صالح; born 12 September 1960) is an Iraqi Kurdish politician who served as the eighth president of Iraq from 2018 to 2022. He is the former prime minister of the Kurdist ...

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

Adil Abdul-Mahdi Adil Abdul-Mahdi al-Muntafiki ( ar, عادل عبد المهدي المنتفكي, born 1 January 1942) is an Iraqi politician who served as Prime Minister of Iraq from October 2018 until May 2020, hundreds of protestors of ''Tishreen revolutio ...

(until May 7);

Mustafa Al-Kadhimi Mustafa Abdul Latif Mishatat ( ar, مصطفى عبد اللطيف مشتت; born 5 July 1967), known as Mustafa al-Kadhimi, alternatively spelt Mustafa al-Kadhimy, is an Iraqi politician, lawyer and bureaucrat and former intelligence officer who ...

(from May 7)

Events

January

* January 3 – A U.S. coordinated airstrike near

Baghdad International Airport Baghdad International Airport , previously Saddam International Airport ( ar, مطار بغداد الدولي, Maṭār Baġdād ad-Dawaliyy) is Iraq's largest international airport, located in a suburb about west of downtown Baghdad in the ...

kills Iranian military official

Qasem Soleimani Qasem Soleimani ( fa, قاسم سلیمانی, ; 11 March 19573January 2020) was an Iranian military officer who served in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). From 1998 until his assassination in 2020, he was the commander of the Qu ...

and

Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis Jamal Ja'far Muhammad Ali Al Ibrahim ( ar, جمال جعفر محمد علي آل إبراهيم ', 16 Nov 1954 – 2 January 2020), known by the kunya Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis ( ar, أبو مهدي المهندس, lit=Father of Mahdi, the Engine ...

, deputy chief of the

Popular Mobilization Forces The Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) ( ar, الحشد الشعبي ''al-Ḥashd ash-Shaʿbī''), also known as the People's Mobilization Committee (PMC) and the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), is an Iraqi state-sponsored umbrella organization ...

. * January 8 – Iran's

Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC; fa, سپاه پاسداران انقلاب اسلامی, Sepāh-e Pāsdārān-e Enghelāb-e Eslāmi, lit=Army of Guardians of the Islamic Revolution also Sepāh or Pasdaran for short) is a branch o ...

launched ballistic missiles at the Ayn al-Asad airbase in Al Anbar Governorate, western

and Erbil,

Iraqi Kurdistan Iraqi Kurdistan or Southern Kurdistan ( ku, باشووری کوردستان, Başûrê Kurdistanê) refers to the Kurdish-populated part of northern Iraq. It is considered one of the four parts of "Kurdistan" in Western Asia, which also inc ...

, in response to the killing of Major General

by a United States

drone strike Drone warfare is a form of aerial warfare using unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAV) or weaponized commercial unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV). The United States, United Kingdom, Israel, China, South Korea, Iran, Italy, France, India, Pakist ...

. * January 12 – Hundreds of Iraqis attend protests over deaths of two reporters in Basra. * January 21 – An Iraqi female protester was shot dead by government forces. 49-year-old Jannat Madhi was working in a medical team giving help to wounded demonstrators. She was shot around mid-night in the Iraqi southern port of

Basra Basra ( ar, ٱلْبَصْرَة, al-Baṣrah) is an Iraqi city located on the Shatt al-Arab. It had an estimated population of 1.4 million in 2018. Basra is also Iraq's main port, although it does not have deep water access, which is han ...

February

* February 5 – Eight people were shot dead in

Najaf Najaf ( ar, ٱلنَّجَف) or An-Najaf al-Ashraf ( ar, ٱلنَّجَف ٱلْأَشْرَف), also known as Baniqia ( ar, بَانِيقِيَا), is a city in central Iraq about 160 km (100 mi) south of Baghdad. Its estimated popula ...

after supporters of

Muqtada al-Sadr Muqtada al-Sadr ( ar, مقتدى الصدر, Muqtadā aṣ-Ṣadr; born 4 August 1974) is an Iraqi politician and militia leader. He is the leader of the Sadrist Movement and the leader of the Peace Companies, a successor to the militia he had p ...

raided an anti-government protest camp. * February 24 –

COVID-19 pandemic in Iraq The COVID-19 pandemic in Iraq is part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). During the pandemic, Iraq reported its first confirmed cases of SARS-CoV-2 infect ...

, the first case of

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

is recorded in

Najaf Governorate Najaf Governorate ( ar, النجف, an-Najaf) or Najaf Province is a governorate in central and southern Iraq. The capital is the city of Najaf. The other major city is Al Kufah. Both cities are holy to Shia Muslims, who form the majority of the p ...

July

* July 6 – Historian and researcher

Hisham al-Hashimi Hisham al-Hashimi ( ar, هشام الهاشمي; 9 May 1973 – 6 July 2020) was an Iraqi historian and researcher in security and strategic affairs and extremist groups, and a specialist on the subject of the Islamic state and its supporters. He ...

is assassinated by unknown gunmen.

September

* The World Bank said Iraq's poverty rate could double to 40 percent by the end of this year and that youth unemployment, currently standing at 36 percent, could rise to even higher numbers. * A wayward rocket intended for US troops posted at Baghdad airport hit and killed five children and two women all belonging to the same family. When the rockets hit, the children were playing outside their home. The latest attack intended to strike American interests was one of around 40 since early August. Several senior officials attended the funeral in a move to calm the tense situation.

Deaths

* January 3 –

, military commander (b. 1954). * April 10 –

Rifat Chadirji Rifat Chadirji ( ar, رفعت الجادرجي ''Rifa'a al-Khādarjī'', also Romanized ''Rifa'at Al Chaderchi''; 6 December 1926 – 10 April 2020) was an Iraqi Turkmen architect. He was often referred to as the father of modern Iraqi architect ...

, architect. * May 16 – Mizban Khadr al-Hadi, general and politician. * June 12 – Ali Hadi, footballer (b. 1967). * June 14 –

Tawfiq al-Yasiri Tawfiq al-Yasiri ( ar, توفيق الياسري) (? – 14 June 2020) was born in Iraq and was an Iraqi military officer and politician. Biography He was a brigadier general in the events of 1991 in Iraq, and led opponents of Saddam Hussein's r ...

, politician. * June 21 –

Ahmed Radhi Ahmed Radhi Humaiesh Al-Salehi, ( ar, أحمد راضي هميش الصالحي, 21 April 1964 – 21 June 2020) was an Iraqi footballer who played as a forward. Regarded as one of Iraq and Asia's best players of all-time, Radhi scored the onl ...

, footballer (b. 1964). * June 22 – Nouri Dhiab, footballer (b. 1943). * June 24 – Mohammed Yaseen Mohammed, weightlifter (b. 1963). * July 6 –

, historian and researcher (b. 1973). * July 19 – Sultan Hashim Ahmad al-Tai, former Defense Minister. * July 28 – Ahlam Wehbi, singer and actress (b. 1938). * August 19 –

Reham Yacoub Reham Yacoub also known as Riham Yaqoob ( ar, رهام يعقوب عزام) (1991 – 19 August 2020) was an Iraqi human rights advocate and doctor by profession who predominantly campaigned against human rights violations in Iraq and also serv ...

, doctor and civilian rights activist (b. 1991). * September 11 –

Nadhim Shaker Nadhim Shaker Salim ( ar, ناظم شاكر سالم; 18 December 1958 – 11 September 2020) was an Iraqi football player and coach of the Iraq national team. Playing career Nadhim Shaker was one of the most talented defenders in Iraqi footba ...

, footballer (b. 1958). * October 25 –

Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri ( ar, عزة إبراهيم الدوري, Izzat Ibrāhīm ad-Dūrī; 1 July 1942 – 25 October 2020) was an Iraqi politician and Army Field Marshal. He served as Vice Chairman of the Iraqi Revolutionary Command Council u ...

, politician (b. 1942). * November 18 – Firsat Sofi, Governor of Erbil (b. 1978).Iraq: Erbil governor contracts coronavirus

Anadolu Agency Anadolu Agency ( tr, Anadolu Ajansı, ; abbreviated AA) is a state-run news agency headquartered in Ankara, Turkey. History The Anadolu Agency was founded in 1920 during the Turkish War of Independence by the order of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. As ...

, retrieved on November 20, 2020.

References

{{Year in Asia , 2020 2020s in Iraq Years of the 21st century in Iraq