The following is a timeline of major events during the Iraq War, following the

2003 invasion of Iraq The 2003 invasion of Iraq was a United States-led invasion of the Republic of Iraq and the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one month, including 26 ...

2003

March

*March 19: The

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

begins the

invasion of Iraq The 2003 invasion of Iraq was a United States-led invasion of the Ba'athist Iraq, Republic of Iraq and the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one mont ...

; coordinating a satellite-guided Tomahawk cruise missile strike on Baghdad. American, British,

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

, and

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...

military operations begin; ground troops move into

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 Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

April

*April 10: Fall of Baghdad:

Coalition forces ' ps, کمک او همکاري ' , allies = Afghanistan , opponents = Taliban Al-Qaeda , commander1 = , commander1_label = Commander , commander2 = , commander2_label = , commander3 = , command ...

moved into Baghdad, symbolically ending the twenty-four year reign of

Iraqi President The president of Iraq is the head of state of Iraq and "safeguards the commitment to the Constitution and the preservation of Iraq's independence, sovereignty, unity, the security of its territories in accordance with the provisions of the Con ...

Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein ( ; ar, صدام حسين, Ṣaddām Ḥusayn; 28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003. A leading member of the revolution ...

May

*May 1: U.S. President George W. Bush declares major combat operations in Iraq over. *May 15 - U.S. forces launch Operation Planet X, capturing roughly 260 people. *May 23 -

L. Paul Bremer Lewis Paul Bremer III (born September 30, 1941) is an American diplomat. He led the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) following the 2003 invasion of Iraq by the United States, from May 2003 until June 2004. Early life and education Born on ...

issues

Coalition Provisional Authority Order Number 2 Coalition Provisional Authority Order Number 2: Dissolution of Entities signed by Coalition Provisional Authority on 23 May 2003, disbanded the Iraqi military, security, and intelligence infrastructure of President Saddam Hussein. It has since bec ...

, dissolving the Iraqi Army and other entities of the former Ba'athist state.

June

*June 15: The U.S. military begins Operation Desert Scorpion, a series of raids across Iraq intended to find Iraqi resistance and heavy weapons. *June 24 - Six soldiers from the British Royal Military Police are killed by a mob in

Majar al-Kabir Majar al-Kabir ( ar, المجر الكبير) is a town in Maysan Governorate, southern Iraq, approximately 24 km from Amarah. History In 2003, six British servicemen of the Royal Military Police were killed there during the Battle of Majar al-Kab ...

in Southern Iraq.

July

*July 2: U.S. President George W. Bush challenges those attacking U.S. troops to "bring 'em on!". *July 13: The '' Iraqi Governing Council'' is established under the authority of the Coalition Provisional Authority. *July 22:

Uday Uday or Odai is a masculine name in Arabic as well as several Indian languages. In many Indian languages it means 'dawn' or 'rise'. The Arabic name (عدي) means 'runner' or 'rising'. List of people * Uday Benegal, Indian musician * Uday Pratap Si ...

and

Qusay Hussein Qusay Saddam Hussein al-Nasiri al-Tikriti (or Qusai, ar, قصي صدام حسين; 17 May 1966 – 22 July 2003) was an Iraqi politician, military leader, and the second son of Saddam Hussein. He was appointed as his father's heir apparent in ...

, Saddam Hussein's sons, are killed in

Mosul Mosul ( ar, الموصل, al-Mawṣil, ku, مووسڵ, translit=Mûsil, Turkish: ''Musul'', syr, ܡܘܨܠ, Māwṣil) is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of Nineveh Governorate. The city is considered the second large ...

during a raid by Task Force 20.

August

*August 7: Bus bombing of the Jordanian embassy, the first VBIED bombing of the occupation. *August 19: Canal Hotel bombing: Truck bomb at the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

headquarters kills the top UN envoy, Sergio Vieira de Mello, and 21 others. *August 29: Influential Shiite cleric Ayatollah Mohammed Baqr al-Hakim is killed in a car bombing as he leaves his mosque after Friday prayers. At least 84 others are killed.

September

*September 3: First post-Saddam government. *September 23: Gallup poll shows majority of Iraqis expect better life in 5 years. Around two-thirds of Baghdad residents state the Iraqi dictator's removal was worth the hardships they've been forced to endure.

October

*October 2:

David Kay David A. Kay (June 8, 1940 – August 13, 2022) was an American weapons expert, political commentator, and senior fellow at the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies. He was best known for his time as United Nations Chief Weapons Inspector follow ...

Iraq Survey Group The Iraq Survey Group (ISG) was a fact-finding mission sent by the multinational force in Iraq to find the weapons of mass destruction alleged to be possessed by Iraq that had been the main ostensible reason for the invasion in 2003. Its final re ...

report finds little evidence of WMD in

, although the regime did intend to develop more weapons with additional capabilities. Such plans and programs appear to have been dormant, the existence of these though were concealed from UNSCOM during the inspections that began in 2002. Weapons inspectors in Iraq did find a clandestine "''network of biological

laboratories A laboratory (; ; colloquially lab) is a facility that provides controlled conditions in which scientific or technological research, experiments, and measurement may be performed. Laboratory services are provided in a variety of settings: physicia ...

''" and a deadly strain of botulinum. The US-sponsored search for WMD has so far cost $300 million and is projected to cost around $600 million more. *October 16:

UN Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, and ...

issues Resolution 1511 which envisions a multinational force and preserves Washington's quasi-absolute control of Iraq. *October 27:

27 October 2003 Baghdad bombings The 27 October 2003 Baghdad bombings were a series of suicide car bombings targeting the Red Cross headquarters and four Iraqi police stations in Baghdad. The attacks killed 34 people and injured another 224. The bombings began at approxim ...

, beginning of the

Ramadan Offensive Ramadan Offensive may refer to: *Ramadan Offensive (2003) The Ramadan Offensive was a series of insurgent attacks against Coalition and Iraqi military targets from the end of October and during much of November 2003. The attacks are called the ...

November

*November 2: In the heaviest single loss for the coalition troops up to that time, two US Chinook helicopters are fired on by two

surface-to-air missile A surface-to-air missile (SAM), also known as a ground-to-air missile (GTAM) or surface-to-air guided weapon (SAGW), is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft or other missiles. It is one type of anti-aircraft syst ...

s and one crashes near

Fallujah Fallujah ( ar, ٱلْفَلُّوجَة, al-Fallūjah, Iraqi pronunciation: ) is a city in the Iraqi province of Al Anbar, located roughly west of Baghdad on the Euphrates. Fallujah dates from Babylonian times and was host to important Jew ...

and on its way to Baghdad airport; 16 soldiers are killed and 20 wounded. *November 12: A suicide truck bomb blows up the Italian headquarters in Nasiriyah, killing 19 Italians (17 of them soldiers) and 14 Iraqis. *November 15: The Governing Council unveils an accelerated timetable for transferring the country to Iraqi control. *November 22: 2003 Baghdad DHL attempted shoot down incident: An

Airbus A-300 The Airbus A300 is a Wide-body aircraft, wide-body airliner developed and manufactured by Airbus. In September 1967, aircraft manufacturers in the United Kingdom, France, and West Germany signed a memorandum of understanding to develop a lar ...

freighter belonging to German courier firm

DHL DHL is an American founded, German logistics company providing courier, package delivery and express mail service, which is a division of the German logistics firm Deutsche Post. The company group delivers over 1.8 billion parcels per year. DHL ...

is forced to make an emergency landing with a wing fire and all three hydraulics lost. Using different engine power to land the aircraft, after being struck by a portable shoulder-fired SA-14 missile. *November 27:

U.S. President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

makes a stealthy Thanksgiving Day visit to

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...

(the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...

having announced that he would be at home with his family) in an attempt to boost morale among the troops and ordinary Iraqis. Bush is accompanied by

National Security Advisor A national security advisor serves as the chief advisor to a national government on matters of security. The advisor is not usually a member of the government's cabinet but is usually a member of various military or security councils. National sec ...

Condoleezza Rice Condoleezza Rice ( ; born November 14, 1954) is an American diplomat and political scientist who is the current director of the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. A member of the Republican Party, she previously served as the 66th Uni ...

, and he is flown in to

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 ...

aboard

Air Force One Air Force One is the official air traffic control designated call sign for a United States Air Force aircraft carrying the president of the United States. In common parlance, the term is used to denote U.S. Air Force aircraft modified and used ...

. *November 30: The US military reports killing 46 militants and wounding 18 in clashes in the central =

December

*December 13:

is captured in

Operation Red Dawn Saddam Hussein, the deposed president of Iraq, was captured by the United States military forces in the town of Ad-Dawr, Iraq on 13 December 2003. Codenamed Operation Red Dawn, this military operation was named after the 1984 American film ''Red ...

; it was announced the next day. *December 17: The

U.S. 4th Infantry Division The 4th Infantry Division is a division of the United States Army based at Fort Carson, Colorado. It is composed of a division headquarters battalion, three brigade combat teams (two Stryker and one armor), a combat aviation brigade, a divis ...

launches

Operation Ivy Blizzard Operation Ivy Blizzard, occurred on 17 December 2003, during the 2003 invasion of Iraq was a counterinsurgent sweep of the Iraqi town of Samarra (part of the Sunni Triangle). The operation involved elements of the U.S. 4th Infantry Division (the ...

, lasting from dawn until mid-morning. The operation resulted in the arrest of 12

insurgents An insurgency is a violent, armed rebellion against authority waged by small, lightly armed bands who practice guerrilla warfare from primarily rural base areas. The key descriptive feature of insurgency is its asymmetric nature: small irreg ...

. *December 27:

2003 Karbala bombings The 2003 Karbala bombings consisted of four suicide attacks on the coalition military barracks in Karbala, Iraq, south of Baghdad on December 27, 2003. The attackers targeted two coalition bases and a downtown Iraqi police station where U.S. m ...

2004

January

*January 26: Japanese Iraq Reconstruction and Support groupe: Japanese troops begin participation in most risky military expedition since World War II. *January 28:

testifies before the Senate Armed Services Committee expressing doubt about the presence of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction.

February

*February 1: Two suicide bombers strike Kurdish political offices in the northern city of

Erbil Erbil, also called Hawler (, ar, أربيل, Arbīl; syr, ܐܲܪܒܹܝܠ, Arbel), is the capital and most populated city in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. It lies in the Erbil Governorate. It has an estimated population of around 1,600,000. Hu ...

, killing 117 and injuring 133. *February 21: U.S. permits Red Cross to visit Saddam Hussein for first time since his capture in December.

March

*March 2: Multiple bombings in

and

Karbala Karbala or Kerbala ( ar, كَرْبَلَاء, Karbalāʾ , , also ;) is a city in central Iraq, located about southwest of Baghdad, and a few miles east of Lake Milh, also known as Razzaza Lake. Karbala is the capital of Karbala Governorat ...

at the climax of the

Shi'a Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam. It holds that the Prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad in Islam, Muhammad designated Ali, ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his S ...

festival of

Aashurah Ashura (, , ) is a day of commemoration in Islam. It occurs annually on the 10th of Muharram, the first month of the Islamic calendar. Among Shia Muslims, Ashura is observed through large demonstrations of high-scale mourning as it marks th ...

kill nearly 200, the deadliest attacks up to that time. *March 8: Provisional

Iraqi Constitution The Constitution of the Republic of Iraq ( ar, دستور جمهورية العراق Kurdish: دەستووری عێراق) is the fundamental law of Iraq. The first constitution came into force in 1925. The current constitution was adopted on Se ...

signed. *March 31:

31 March 2004 Fallujah ambush The 2004 Fallujah Blackwater incident occurred on March 31, 2004, when Iraqi insurgents attacked a convoy containing four American contractors from the private military company Blackwater USA who were conducting a delivery for food caterers ES ...

: Four Blackwater contractors ambushed and killed in

, causing a

First Battle of Fallujah The First Battle of Fallujah, code-named Operation Vigilant Resolve, was an operation against militants in Fallujah as well as an attempt to apprehend or kill the perpetrators of the killing of four U.S. contractors in March 2004. The chief ca ...

April

*April 4: Beginning of violent clashes between the coalition and followers of

Shia Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam. It holds that the Prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad in Islam, Muhammad designated Ali, ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his S ...

cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, which will end at the end of August 2004. *April 8: Beginning of the kidnapping of foreign civilians in Iraq, with the abduction of several Japanese. *April 18:

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, led by newly elected

José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero (; born 4 August 1960) is a Spanish politician and member of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE). He was the Prime Minister of Spain being elected for two terms, in the 2004 and 2008 general elections ...

(

Socialist Party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of th ...

) vows to withdraw its troops. *April 18:

Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse During the early stages of the Iraq War, members of the United States Army and the CIA committed a series of human rights violations and war crimes against detainees in the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, including Physical abuse, physical and sexu ...

; Beginning of the diffusion of images of humiliated Iraqi detainees by US soldiers in

Abu Ghraib Abu Ghraib (; ar, أبو غريب, ''Abū Ghurayb'') is a city in the Baghdad Governorate of Iraq, located just west of Baghdad's city center, or northwest of Baghdad International Airport. It has a population of 189,000 (2003). The old road t ...

. *April 26: The

Iraq Interim Governing Council The Iraqi Governing Council (IGC) was the provisional government of Iraq from 13 July 2003 to 1 June 2004. It was established by and served under the United States-led Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA). The IGC consisted of various Iraqi pol ...

announce a new flag for post-Saddam Iraq. This creates much controversy, in part because of the similarity of color and design with the flag of Israel, and difference with other Arab nation flags. The flag is not adopted.

May

*May 17:

Ezzedine Salim Ezzedine Salim ( ar, عز الدين سليم), also known as Abdelzahra Othman Mohammed (23 March 1943 – 17 May 2004, عبد الزهراء عثمان محمد), was an Iraqi politician, author, educator, Islamist theorist and one of the leadin ...

, head of the Iraqi Governing Council, killed in a suicide attack. *May 19: Mukaradeeb killings; US bombs a wedding party, killing 42 people.

June

*June 1: Assuming of functions of the Iraqi Interim Government led by

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 is not ...

Iyad Allawi Ayad Allawi ( ar, إيَاد عَلَّاوِي ; born 31 May 1944) is an Iraqi politician. He served as the vice president of Iraq from 2014 to 2015 and 2016 to 2018. Previously he was interim prime minister of Iraq from 2004 to 2005 and the ...

;

Ghazi al-Yawer Ghazi Mashal Ajil al-Yawar ( ar, غازي مشعل عجيل الياور, born 1958) is an Iraqi politician. He was the vice president under the Iraqi Transitional Government in 2006, and was interim president of Iraq under the Iraqi Interim Gove ...

is designed head of the Iraqi state. *June 8: UN Security Council Resolution 1546 on the transfer of sovereignty from the Coalition Provisional Authority to the Iraqi Interim Government. *June 21:

2004 Iranian seizure of Royal Navy personnel The 2004 Iranian seizure of Royal Navy personnel took place in the Shatt al-Arab (Arvand Rud in Persian) waterway on 21 June. Six Royal Marines and two Royal Navy sailors were captured. The British servicemen were seized while training Iraqi ri ...

*June 28: At 10:26 AM, the US-led

Coalition Provisional Authority ) , capital = Baghdad , largest_city = capital , common_languages = ArabicKurdishEnglish (''de facto'') , government_type = Transitional government , legislature = Iraqi Governing Council , title_leader = Administrator , leader1 = Jay ...

formally transferred sovereignty of Iraqi territory to the Iraqi interim government, two days ahead of schedule. L. Paul Bremer departed the country two hours later. *June 30: Saddam Hussein and eleven high ex-governmental figures are put under the Iraqi Interim Government's authority.

July

*July 1: Trial of Saddam Hussein: Saddam Hussein appears at his first hearing. *July 20:

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Maria Gloria Macaraeg Macapagal Arroyo (, born April 5, 1947), often referred to by her initials GMA, is a Filipino academic and politician serving as one of the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Philippines, House Deputy Spe ...

president of the Philippines The president of the Philippines ( fil, Pangulo ng Pilipinas, sometimes referred to as ''Presidente ng Pilipinas'') is the head of state, head of government and chief executive of the Philippines. The president leads the executive branch of t ...

, confirms that hostage Angelo de la Cruz has been freed by his captors after their demands for a one-month-early withdrawal of all 51 Filipino troops from

were met.

August

*August 5–27: Forces loyal to Muqtada al-Sadr resist government authority in Najaf; the fighting is ended with

Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani Ali al-Husayni al-Sistani ( ar, علي الحسيني السيستاني; fa, , Ali-ye Hoseyni-ye Sistāni; born 4 August 1930), commonly known as Ayatollah Sistani, is an Iranian–Iraqi Twelver Shia Ayatollah and marja'. He has been described ...

's help.

September

*September 14: The Haifa Street helicopter incident kills 13 Iraqis and is televised around the world. *September 30: A car strikes an American officer handing out candy to children, killing up to 35 children.

October

*October 1: Battle of Samarra (2004) *17 October: Al-Zarqawi pledged allegiance to

al-Qaeda Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremism, Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arab, Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military ta ...

network *Late October: The

Al Qa'qaa high explosives controversy The Al Qa'qaa high explosives controversy concerns the possible removal by Iraqi insurgency of about 377 tonnes of high explosives, HMX and RDX, after the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Although Pentagon spokesman Lawrence Di Rita said that the Internation ...

comes to light.

November

*November 7:

Second Battle of Fallujah The Second Battle of Fallujah, codenamed Operation al-Fajr ( ar, الفجر, ) and Operation Phantom Fury, was an American-led offensive of the Iraq War that lasted roughly 6 weeks, starting 7th November, 2004. Marking the highest point of the ...

begins. *November 8: Insurgents regroup and begin the Battle of Mosul.

December

*December 21:

2004 Forward Operating Base Marez bombing The Forward Operating Base Marez bombing took place on December 21, 2004. Fourteen U.S. soldiers, four U.S. citizen Halliburton employees, and four Iraqi soldiers allied with the U.S. military were killed by a suicide bomber in a dining hall a ...

kills 22, including 18 Americans.

2005

January

*January 26: 31 US soldiers die in a helicopter crash, deadliest day of the entire postwar period for the US military. *January 30: Iraqi legislative election. The Shia

United Iraqi Alliance The National Iraqi Alliance (NIA or INA; ar, الائتلاف الوطني العراقي; transliterated: al-Itilaf al-Watani al-Iraqi), also known as the Watani List, is an Iraqi electoral coalition that contested the 2010 Iraqi legislative ...

obtained a majority, followed by the

Kurdish Alliance The Democratic Patriotic Alliance of Kurdistan (DPAK) sometimes referred to simply as the Kurdistan Alliance (KA) is the name of the electoral coalition first presented as a united Kurdish list in the January 2005 election in Iraq. Elections were ...

; Sunnis largely boycotted.

February

*February 28:

2005 Al Hillah bombing The Al Hillah bombing killed 127 people, chiefly men lining up to join the Iraqi police forces, at the recruiting centre on February 28, 2005 in Al Hillah, Iraq. The bombing caused a worsening of Iraqi-Jordanian diplomatic relations after it ...

: In the deadliest single blast up to that time, a car bomb kills 127 in Hillah; the identity of the bomber as a Jordanian caused a diplomatic row between Iraq and

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

March

*March 4: Rescue of Giuliana Sgrena: Liberation of Italian journalist

Giuliana Sgrena Giuliana Sgrena (born 20 December 1948) is an Italian journalist who works for the Italian communist newspaper '' il manifesto'' and the German weekly '' Die Zeit''. While working in Iraq, she was kidnapped by insurgents on 4 February 2005. After ...

, during which secret Italian agent

Nicola Calipari Nicola Calipari (June 23, 1953March 4, 2005) was an Italian major general and SISMI military intelligence officer. Calipari was accidentally killed by American soldiers while escorting a recently released Italian hostage, journalist Giuliana Sg ...

is killed by US fire.

Berlusconi Silvio Berlusconi ( ; ; born 29 September 1936) is an Italian media tycoon and politician who served as Prime Minister of Italy in four governments from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006 and 2008 to 2011. He was a member of the Chamber of Deputies f ...

's government announces a partial retreat of Italian troops from the coalition. *March 16 First meeting of the transitional

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...

. *March 31: The Iraqi Intelligence Commission concludes in its final report that prewar intelligence regarding WMD's was false.

April

*April 2: Battle of Abu Ghraib *April 6: Election of Kurdish Jalal Talabani as

President of Iraq The president of Iraq is the head of state of Iraq and "safeguards the commitment to the Constitution and the preservation of Iraq's independence, sovereignty, unity, the security of its territories in accordance with the provisions of the Con ...

. *April 7: Ibrahim al-Jaafari is nominated as

Prime minister of Iraq The prime minister of Iraq is the head of government of Iraq. On 27 October 2022, Mohammed Shia' Al Sudani became the incumbent prime minister. History The prime minister was originally an appointed office, subsidiary to the head of state, a ...

. *April 28: The Parliament votes its trust towards the new government.

May

*May 8:

Battle of Al Qaim The Battle of Al-Qa'im (code-named Operation Matador) was a military offensive conducted by the United States Marine Corps, against insurgent positions in Iraq's northwestern Anbar province, which ran from 8 May 2005 to 19 May 2005. It was focus ...

, US aiming to stop the flow of foreign fighters into Iraq. *May 15 Formation of the parliamentary commission charged of the draft of the new Constitution.

July

*July 19: 2005 Musayyib bombing kills nearly 100 Shia.

August

*August 1–4:

Battle of Haditha The Battle of Haditha was a battle fought between United States, U.S. forces and Ansar al-Sunna in early August 2005 on the outskirts of the town of Haditha, Iraq, which was one of the many towns that were under insurgent control in the Euphrate ...

*August 15: Unable to find a consensus between the main political leaders, the Parliament postpones for a week the transmission of the draft constitution to its members. *August 22: The constitution's draft is presented to the Iraqi Parliament. *August 28: The constitution is presented to parliament. *August 31: 2005 Baghdad bridge stampede: Rumors of a suicide bomber lead to a stampede on the

Al-Aaimmah bridge Al-Aimmah Bridge ( ar, جسر الأئمة, Jisr al-'Ā'immah, lit=Bridge of the Imams) is a bridge over the river Tigris in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad. The bridge links the areas of A'dhamiyyah, which is a majority Sunni Arab area, from its ea ...

; about 1,000 people died.

September

*September 1: Battle of Tal Afar: US troops launch an offensive in

Tal Afar Tal Afar ( ar, تَلْعَفَر, Talʿafar, ) is a city in the Nineveh Governorate of northwestern Iraq, located 63 km (39 mi) west of Mosul, 52 km (32 mi) east of Sinjar14 September 2005 Baghdad bombings: In the deadliest day of the insurgency in Baghdad, bombs kill 160 and injure more than 500. *September 19:

Basra prison incident The Basra prison incident was an event involving British troops in Basra, Iraq. Main incident On 19 September 2005, two undercover British Special Air Service (SAS) soldiers dressed in traditional Arab garments and headdresses opened fire on a g ...

: British troops storm a police station in

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 hand ...

to free two soldiers being held there. *September 29: Bombings in Balad kill at least 95.

October

*October 15:

2005 Iraqi constitutional referendum The electorate of Iraq went to the polls on 15 October 2005 to vote in a referendum on whether or not to ratify the proposed constitution of Iraq. After 10 days of counting votes, the country's electoral commission announced that the constitution ...

: Voters approve Iraq's new constitution. *Oct. 19: Start of Saddam Hussein's trial. *Oct. 24 – The

Palestine Hotel The Palestine Hotel (Arabic: فندق فلسطين), often referred to simply as ''The Palestine'', is an 18-story hotel in Baghdad, Iraq located on Firdos Square near from Saadon, across from the Ishtar Hotel. It has long been favoured by journa ...

and the Sheraton Ishtar hotel in Baghdad are hit by truck bombs; the attacks are captured on film.

November

*Nov. 5:

Operation Steel Curtain Operation Steel Curtain (Arabic: الحجاب الفولاذي Al Hejab Elfulathi) was a military operation executed by coalition forces in early November 2005 to reduce the flow of foreign insurgents crossing the border and joining the Iraqi ...

launched to root out foreign fighters. *Nov. 15 - 173 prisoners are found in an Iraqi government bunker in Baghdad, having been starved, beaten and tortured. *Nov. 18: Bombings in Khanaqin kill at least 74. *Nov. 19:

Haditha killings The Haditha massacre (also called the Haditha killings or the Haditha incident) was a series of killings on November 19, 2005, in which a group of United States Marines killed 24 unarmed Iraqi civilians. The killings occurred in Haditha, a cit ...

: American soldiers kill 24 people, including 15 noncombatants, in Haditha, after an insurgent attack. *Nov. 25: 2005–2006 Christian Peacemaker hostage crisis begins.

December

*December 14 - U.S. President George W. Bush says that the decision to invade Iraq in 2003 was the result of faulty intelligence, and accepts responsibility for that decision. He maintains that his decision was still justified. *December 15:

December 2005 Iraqi legislative election Parliamentary elections were held in Iraq on 15 December 2005, following the approval of a new constitution in a referendum of 15 October. Electoral system The elections took place under a list system, whereby voters chose from a list of parti ...

2006

February

*February 22 The al-Askari Mosque bombing (2006): Shi’ite

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is bombed by Sunni militants, sparking a sectarian civil war. Iraqi insurgency (2003–2011), Shi’ite, Sunni and other militant groups also start advancing within Battle of Baghdad (2006–2008), Baghdad.

March

*March 12: Mahmudiyah killings.

April

*April 24: Hamdania incident. Marines allegedly abduct an Iraqi civilian from a house, kill him, and place components and spent AK-47 cartridges near his body to make it appear he was planting an improvised explosive device, IED.

May

*May 20 The new Government of Iraq from 2006, Iraqi government, which succeeds to the Iraqi Transitional Government, begins its functions.

June

*June 7 Abu Musab al-Zarqawi is killed. *June 14: Operation Together Forward begins. *June 17: Battle of Ramadi (2006) begins.

July

*July 9: Hay al Jihad massacre - Shia militias kill 40 Sunnis. *July 23: Two powerful bombs in Baghdad's Sadr City neighborhood kill at least 66. *July 24

, 69, the deposed former

i President, is force-fed in a

hospital through a tube after 16 days of hunger strike. *July 25 Operation River Falcon begins.

August

October

*Oct. 19: Battle of Amarah. Clashes erupt between the Mahdi Army and the Badr Organization. *Oct. 28: The first of the Chlorine bombings in Iraq.

November

*November 7 - The 2006 United States general elections, United States midterm elections removed the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party from control of both chambers of the United States Congress. The failings in the Iraq War were cited as one of the main causes of the Republicans' defeat, even though the Bush administration had attempted to distance itself from its earlier "stay the course" rhetoric. *November 19: Ammar al-Saffar, Deputy Health Minister, becomes the highest-ranking Iraqi to be kidnapped. *23 November 2006 Sadr City bombings kill more than 200 Shias in Sadr City.

December

*December 6: The Iraq Study Group releases their final report. *December 21: 2006 US raid on Iranian diplomats *December 25: Diyala campaign begins. *Dec. 30: Execution of Saddam Hussein.

2007

January

*January 10: The Iraq War troop surge of 2007 is announced. *January 11: US raid on Iranian Liaison Office in Arbil. *January 20: The Karbala provincial headquarters raid results in the kidnapping and killing of five American soldiers. The US blames Iran. *January 28: Followers of the Shia cult Soldiers of Heaven initiate the Battle of Najaf (2007), which left nearly 300 dead.

February

*February 3: 3 February 2007 Baghdad market bombing, A bomb in Baghdad market kills 135 people. *February 6: Baghdad kidnapping of Iranian diplomat (February 2007), Baghdad kidnapping of Iranian diplomat. *February 27: Siege of U.K. bases in Basra begins.

March

*March 6: 2007 Al Hillah bombings kill 120 Shias. *March 23: 2007 Iranian seizure of Royal Navy personnel: Iran seizes 15 British Royal Navy personnel patrolling near Iraq, who are released on 4 April. *March 27: 2007 Tal Afar bombings and massacre, A bombing in Tal Afar, which killed 152, set off Shia retaliation which left 70 Sunnis dead. *March 29: 29 March 2007 Baghdad bombings, Suicide bombings in Baghdad kill 82 Shias. *Battle of Baqubah.

April

*April 6: Operation Black Eagle. Fighting between Coalition forces and the Madhi Army. *April 18: 18 April 2007 Baghdad bombings, Bombings across Baghdad kill nearly 200. *April 23: 2007 Mosul massacre of Yazidi workers, in revenge for the Stoning of Du'a Khalil Aswad.

May

*The Iraq oil law (2007) is proposed.

June

*June 13: 2007 al-Askari Mosque bombing blows up two of the mosque's minarets. *June 16: Operation Phantom Thunder begins.

July

*July 12: The Initial Benchmark Assessment Report is released. *July 16: The 2007 Kirkuk bombings kill 86. *July 17: 2007 Amirli bombing, Truck bomb in Amirli kills 156. *July 26: A 26 July 2007 Baghdad market bombing, Baghdad market is bombed, killing 92.

August

*Operation Phantom Strike begins. *August 14: 2007 Yazidi communities bombings. In the most deadly insurgent strikes to date, four bombings in Kahtaniya and Jazeera, in northern Iraq, strike Yazidi communities, killing 796 people and injuring more than 1,500.

September

*The Nisour Square massacre in Baghdad killed 17 Iraqi civilians.

2008

January

*January 8: Operation Phantom Phoenix begins. *January 18: 2008 Iraqi Day of Ashura fighting. *January 23: Ninawa campaign begins.

February

*1 February 2008 Baghdad bombings, Bombings in Baghdad kill 98. *February 21: 2008 Turkish incursion into northern Iraq Turkey launches an offensive in northern Iraq against Kurdistan Workers' Party, PKK rebels.

March

*March 23: Iraq spring fighting of 2008. *March 25: Battle of Basra (2008).

July

*July 29: Operation Augurs of Prosperity launched.

October

*Oct. 26: 2008 Abu Kamal raid into Syria.

November

*2008 attacks on Christians in Mosul *The U.S.-Iraq Status of Forces Agreement, which stipulates that U.S. troops will be out of Iraq by the end of 2011, is approved and ratified by the Iraqi Parliament.

2009

January

*January 31: 2009 Iraqi governorate elections *A total of 191 Iraqis were killed in violence during January, the lowest monthly toll since the 2003 invasion of Iraq, US-led invasion of March 2003.At least 26 dead as bombs, shootings shatter Iraq lull
Retrieved on 11 February 2009 Sixteen U.S. troops died in Iraq during this month.

May

*May 11: Camp Liberty killings *May 28: The last of the U.K.'s combat troops are withdrawn.

July 25

*2009 Iraqi Kurdistan legislative election

August

*19 August 2009 Baghdad bombings kill 101.

October

*25 October 2009 Baghdad bombings kill 155.

December

*8 December 2009 Baghdad bombings kill 127. *December 31: The US suffers only four troop deaths, and no combat deaths, the lowest figure since the war began.

2010

March

*March 7: 2010 Iraqi parliamentary election

April

*April 18: Islamic State of Iraq leaders Abu Ayyub al-Masri and Abu Omar al-Baghdadi are killed in a joint U.S.-Iraqi operation near Tikrit,

August

*August 18: American combat operations in Iraq end as its last Brigade combat team, combat brigade departs for Kuwait.

September

*September 30: 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment conducted a Transition of Authority with 3rd BDE, 3rd ID and assumed responsibility for the five northern Provinces of United States Division-South under MG Vincent Brooks and the 1st Infantry Division.3d Armored Cavalry Regiment

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Iraq War Timeline Timelines of the War in Iraq (2013–2017), Iraq War, * Iraq War-related lists, * United States military history timelines Timelines of military conflicts since 1945