Timeline of the 2003 invasion of Iraq
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This is a timeline of the events surrounding the United States-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.


March 17

* U.S. President
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 ...
delivers a televised address to the world, in which he summarizes the past few months' events between the United States and Iraq. He demands that Saddam Hussein vacate his office and leave Iraq within two days, or else the U.S. and its allies will invade Iraq and depose his regime. * In the United Kingdom, Leader of the House of Commons Robin Cook resigns in protest of Prime Minister Tony Blair's support of the American invasion.


March 18

Protests against a possible invasion of Iraq begin to take place around the world. * In Australia, a "NO WAR" slogan is painted on the
Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive buildings and a masterpiece of 20th-century architec ...
by protesters. This comes as Australia's Prime Minister John Howard announced he will commit troops to any American-led war against Iraq. A former Navy officer burns his uniform outside Australia's
Parliament House Parliament House may refer to: Australia * Parliament House, Canberra, Parliament of Australia * Parliament House, Adelaide, Parliament of South Australia * Parliament House, Brisbane, Parliament of Queensland * Parliament House, Darwin, Parliame ...
. * In Denmark, protestors hurl red paint at Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen for his pro-U.S. stance shortly before a press conference. * In the United Kingdom, Tony Blair survives a rebellion within his own party to win parliamentary support of war actions in Iraq, in which 159
Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...
Members of Parliament vote against the government.


March 19

*As anti-war protests continue,
Greenpeace Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning network, founded in Canada in 1971 by Irving Stowe and Dorothy Stowe, immigrant environmental activists from the United States. Greenpeace states its goal is to "ensure the ability of the Earth t ...
demonstrators chain themselves to the gates of the Australian prime minister's residence, The Lodge.


March 20

The first assaults on Baghdad begin shortly following the 01:00 UTC expiry of the United States' 48-hour deadline for Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and his sons to leave Iraq. *02:30 UTC: Explosions are reported in Baghdad, damaging civilian buildings. The United States Department of Defense later states that the assault consisted of 36 Tomahawk missiles and two F-117-launched
GBU-27 The GBU-27 Paveway III (Guided Bomb Unit) is a laser-guided bomb with bunker busting, bunker buster capabilities, it is a GBU-24 Paveway III (fitted on the warhead of the BLU-109 bomb body) that has been redesigned to be used by the Lockheed F-117 ...
bombs, and that the target was a military bunker thought to contain high-level Iraqi regime officials, including Saddam Hussein himself. Later, on May 29, CBS Evening News reports that the bunker never existed. *03:15 UTC (March 19 U.S. time): U.S. President George W. Bush states that he ordered the coalition to launch an "attack of opportunity" against specified targets in Iraq. The military action was dubbed "Operation Iraqi Freedom". *Iraqi state television broadcasts an address from Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. The U.S. and the British analyze the footage closely, believing that one of his body doubles may have made the speech. However, the U.S. eventually says it believes the address was indeed delivered by Saddam Hussein himself. It has not yet been ascertained when the address was recorded, however. Speculation begins that Saddam Hussein may have been killed. However, these reports are deemed to be false. *It is announced that special operations forces are operating inside Iraq. Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States all have special operations forces in the area. Soon after the strike on Baghdad, Iraq launches a number of missiles at targets in Kuwait, including at the coalition forces stationed there. 2-3 Scud missiles are also intercepted. The coalition report that they caused no damage. Later in the day, both British and U.S. ground troops move into the demilitarized zone between Iraq and its neighbor, Kuwait, and then into Iraq itself. During the night, 12 British military personnel and four American troops are killed when a transport helicopter crashes.


March 22

*Airstrikes on Baghdad continue, with the attacks now concentrated on the city's outskirts. *Around midnight UTC (early morning local time), reports indicate that 1,500 Turkish troops had moved into northern Iraq. The intervention of Turkish troops had been opposed by the U.S. government. The German government has announced that it will call back the German AWACS personnel watching NATO airspace above Turkey if Turkish troops engage in fights in northern Iraq. Turkey later denies they moved troops into Iraq. *At 1:15 (UTC), a collision of two Royal Navy Westland Sea King helicopters from over the Persian Gulf kills six Britons and one American. *At 10:00 UTC, it is reported that U.S. forces are attempting to capture the city of Basra, and are involved in a major tank battle on the western side of the city. *Kurdish officials report a U.S. missile attack on territory held by the Kurdish Islamist group Ansar al-Islam. *According to Iraqi regime reports, two civilians are killed and 207 wounded, consisting of mostly women and children. They claim that there have been no defections or surrenders of Iraqi soldiers, and that footage to the contrary is in fact that of kidnapped Iraqi civilians. *Five U.S. tanks and numerous vehicles have been destroyed by Iraqi fighters, and coalition forces enter but are later repelled from Umm Qasr. *The Iraqi regime puts a bounty of 50 million dinars (US$33,000) for the capture, or 25 million dinars for the killing of each "mercenary". *Parts of the city of Basra are entered by the British. *A
hand grenade A grenade is an explosive weapon typically thrown by hand (also called hand grenade), but can also refer to a shell (explosive projectile) shot from the muzzle of a rifle (as a rifle grenade) or a grenade launcher. A modern hand grenade genera ...
attack on a rear base of the
101st Airborne Division The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) ("Screaming Eagles") is a light infantry division of the United States Army that specializes in air assault operations. It can plan, coordinate, and execute multiple battalion-size air assault operati ...
in Kuwait causes the death of CPT Chris Seifert of the Army and MAJ Gregory Stone of the Air Force and injuries to 14 others. An American soldier, SGT
Hasan Akbar ''United States v. Hasan K. Akbar'' was the court-martial of a United States Army soldier for a premeditated attack in the early morning hours of March 23, 2003, at Camp Pennsylvania, Kuwait, during the start of the United States invasion of Iraq. ...
is arrested for the attack.


March 23

*American and British forces succeed in taking the airport outside of Basra, and battle with Iraqi forces for control of the city itself. *
U.S. Marines The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the Marines, maritime land force military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary warfare, exped ...
battle Iraqi forces near the city of
Nassiriya Nasiriyah ( ar, ٱلنَّاصِرِيَّة; BGN: ''An Nāşirīyah''; also spelled ''Nassiriya'' or ''Nasiriya'') is a city in Iraq. It is on the lower Euphrates, about south-southeast of Baghdad, near the ruins of the ancient city of Ur. ...
, a key crossing of the
Euphrates The Euphrates () is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Tigris–Euphrates river system, Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia ( ''the land between the rivers'') ...
about southeast of Baghdad. *News media report that pictures of British and American soldiers wounded and killed by Iraqi forces were shown by the Arabian
Al Jazeera Al Jazeera ( ar, الجزيرة, translit-std=DIN, translit=al-jazīrah, , "The Island") is a state-owned Arabic-language international radio and TV broadcaster of Qatar. It is based in Doha and operated by the media conglomerate Al Jazeera ...
TV network. **Sixteen Americans go missing; five of them were shown on Iraqi state-run television as prisoners of war and at least four are shown dead in what appears to be a hospital room. *In another incident about ten U.S. Marines are confirmed to be killed, after they ran into an ambush during the
Battle of Nasiriyah The Battle of Nasiriyah was fought between the US 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, aided by the British military, and Iraqi forces from 23 March to 2 April 2003 during the US-led invasion of Iraq. On the night of 24–25 March, the bulk of ...
. *The British television network
ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
reports that its reporter Terry Lloyd was killed near Basra. *The battles around the Iraqi cities of Basra and
Nassiriya Nasiriyah ( ar, ٱلنَّاصِرِيَّة; BGN: ''An Nāşirīyah''; also spelled ''Nassiriya'' or ''Nasiriya'') is a city in Iraq. It is on the lower Euphrates, about south-southeast of Baghdad, near the ruins of the ancient city of Ur. ...
continue. *Iraq reports that it has captured a number of American
prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held Captivity, captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold priso ...
. The United States military states that 12 soldiers from a maintenance unit are missing. A videotape of the captured and dead soldiers are released, showing possible torture and execution-style killings. U.S. officials charge that Iraqi treatment of the captives violates the Geneva Conventions. *A RAF Panavia Tornado is shot down by " friendly fire" by an American Patriot missile battery. *Coalition forces take control of a large complex of buildings in
An 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 ...
Province near the city of Najaf. Some news sources proclaim that this is a "huge chemical weapons plant", but
Pentagon In geometry, a pentagon (from the Greek πέντε ''pente'' meaning ''five'' and γωνία ''gonia'' meaning ''angle'') is any five-sided polygon or 5-gon. The sum of the internal angles in a simple pentagon is 540°. A pentagon may be simpl ...
officials call such announcements "premature" and state that no weapons of mass destruction had yet been found. * In Belgium, legal complaints are filed against American officials for "
crimes against humanity Crimes against humanity are widespread or systemic acts committed by or on behalf of a ''de facto'' authority, usually a state, that grossly violate human rights. Unlike war crimes, crimes against humanity do not have to take place within the ...
". It was reported that an Iraqi representing seven families deposited complaints for violation of human rights against former U.S. President
George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; pr ...
,
Dick Cheney Richard Bruce Cheney ( ; born January 30, 1941) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 46th vice president of the United States from 2001 to 2009 under President George W. Bush. He is currently the oldest living former U ...
, Norman Schwarzkopf in Belgium. Supported by a socialist deputy and a non-governmental organization ( NGO), the Iraqis denounce the bombing of a shelter which had made 403 civilian victims in Baghdad in February 1991 during the Persian Gulf War. This is made possible by the Belgian law of
universal competence Universal jurisdiction is a legal principle that allows states or international organizations to claim criminal jurisdiction over an accused person regardless of where the alleged crime was committed, and regardless of the accused's nationalit ...
, which provides justice on war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide, and can apply to any nationalities. U.S. Secretary of State
Colin Powell Colin Luther Powell ( ; April 5, 1937 – October 18, 2021) was an American politician, statesman, diplomat, and United States Army officer who served as the 65th United States Secretary of State from 2001 to 2005. He was the first African ...
indicates the event was a "serious problem", affecting the ability to go to Belgium, in particular to NATO in Brussels. Powell stated that this law was a subject of worry.


March 24

*An operation of about thirty American attack helicopters attack the Medina Division of the Iraqi Republican Guard, entrenched in the Karbala area. One U.S. Army Apache helicopter is shot down and captured by Iraqi civilians, along with its two crewmen, who appear later on Arab satellite T.V. channels. A CNN reporter that was embedded with a helicopter unit that participated in the battle reports the destruction of another helicopter and that helicopters were under heavy fire, with only two of them managing to achieve their objectives. The helicopter's crewmen are later safely recovered. *China gives the United States the address of its embassy in Baghdad in hopes of avoiding a repeat of the deadly attack on the Chinese embassy in Belgrade. *Five people, including one woman, are killed when a missile falls down onto their houses in a populated district in the west of Baghdad. *The United States accuses the Russians of deliveries of weapons to Iraq.
Ari Fleischer Lawrence Ari Fleischer (born October 13, 1960) is an American media consultant and political aide who served as the 23rd White House Press Secretary, for President George W. Bush, from January 2001 to July 2003. As press secretary in the Bush a ...
, the spokesman of the U.S. president, rejects denials by Moscow and claims that Washington has "evidence" of these deliveries, which could give the Iraqis invaluable assets against British and American forces. Devices listed are binoculars for night vision, GPS units, and anti-tank missiles. Fleischer says the U.S. government asked the Russians to immediately put an end to its assistance. The Russian government and the companies mentioned as having delivered armaments to Iraq rejects these allegations on Monday, describing them as "inventions" and reaffirming that Moscow strictly respects the embargo imposed by the U.N. on Baghdad. Russian President Vladimir Putin rejects the American charges himself during a telephone conversation with George W. Bush, the U.S. presidential press secretary indicated Tuesday, quoted by the Interfax agency. * The
Arab League The Arab League ( ar, الجامعة العربية, ' ), formally the League of Arab States ( ar, جامعة الدول العربية, '), is a regional organization in the Arab world, which is located in Northern Africa, Western Africa, E ...
votes 21–1 in favor of a
resolution Resolution(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Resolution (debate), the statement which is debated in policy debate * Resolution (law), a written motion adopted by a deliberative body * New Year's resolution, a commitment that an individual mak ...
demanding the immediate and unconditional removal of U.S. and British soldiers from Iraq. The lone dissenting vote was cast by Kuwait. *Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein gives a televised address on Iraqi state television, urging Iraqi citizens to fight coalition forces:
Oh, brave fighters! Hit your enemy with all your strength. Oh Iraqis, fight with the strength of the spirit of jihad which you carry in you and push them to the point where they cannot go on.


March 25

*Coalition forces begin fighting Iraqi militia in Basra, the second largest city in Iraq. British soldiers reported that the Shiite population of Basra appeared to be rebelling against the Iraqi militia. The anti-Saddam resistance group based in Iran, the
Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq The Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq (ISCI or SIIC; ar, المجلس الأعلى الإسلامي العراقي ''Al-Majlis Al-A'ala Al-Islami Al-'Iraqi''; previously the party was known as the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq ...
, confirmed that the Shiite revolt was taking place in Basra. According to some sources, the Iraqi militia forces were attacking the local Basra civilians, attempting to stop the revolt, with artillery and mortars. The Iraqi Information Minister Muhammed al-Sahhaf denied that any uprising was taking place in Basra. *The Red Cross warned that a humanitarian crisis was emerging in the city. The Red Cross, Save the Children and other organizations are attempting to reach the city. Kuwait also has a caravan of supply trucks heading north into Iraq. Coalition forces announce that the port city of Umm Qasr was now "safe and open" and divers begin searching for mines off shore. Once the waters are clear, British ships, which are waiting off of the Iraqi coast, land in Umm Qasr with additional medicine, food and water for the area. Coalition forces have a small supply of food and water that they begin to pass out to the citizens of Umm Qasr. *While fighting in Nasiriya, coalition forces discover and confiscate weapons caches and gear to protect against chemical weapons, including a T-55 tank, over 3,000 chemical suits with masks, and Iraqi munitions and military uniforms. All of this equipment was hidden in a Nasiriya hospital. * U.S. forces advance toward Baghdad, but are hampered by extreme dust storms. * Thousands of chemical suits as well as a tank and a large stockpile of weapons are reportedly found by coalition forces in the An Nasiriyah
hospital A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emerge ...
in Iraq. Coalition forces enter the hospital after being fired upon by Iraqi soldiers hiding in the building. U.S. officials report the possibility that chemical weapons would be deployed on coalition troops as they approach Baghdad. * British forces report that a popular uprising in the city of Basra has provoked Iraqi troops to fire upon civilians with mortars. British forces attack the mortar position. *According to a U.S. officer, approximately 650 Iraqis were killed around Najaf "in the last twenty-four hours" while the American forces would not have, on their side, recorded any casualties. This assessment, not confirmed by any independent source, would be the heaviest since the beginning of the offensive, the Thursday prior.


March 26

* The American central command in Qatar admits to have carried out bombardments which could have killed civilians because Iraqi military assets were being placed close to civilian areas - within 300 feet (100 m) in some cases. This occurs a few hours after two explosions occurred in on a commercial street of Baghdad which killed 14 Iraqi civilians and injured thirty more, according to Iraqi civil defense. Also on this day special units of the Iraqi Republican Guard, for the first time, take part in the fights against the American and British forces. Just after the marketplace explosions in Baghdad, Russia calls for "the immediate end of the war against Iraq" and discussions to resume within the Security Council. * 954 soldiers from the American
173rd Airborne Brigade The 173rd Airborne Brigade ("Sky Soldiers") is an airborne infantry brigade combat team (IBCT) of the United States Army based in Vicenza, Italy. It is the United States European Command's conventional airborne strategic response force for Eu ...
, commanded by Colonel William C. Mayville, conduct a combat parajump into Northern Iraq onto Bashur Airfield. Their mission is to secure a northern front to air-land ground units including armor and logistical assets. The paratroopers also assist special operations forces (SOF) already active in the areas north of
Kirkuk Kirkuk ( ar, كركوك, ku, کەرکووک, translit=Kerkûk, , tr, Kerkük) is a city in Iraq, serving as the capital of the Kirkuk Governorate, located north of Baghdad. The city is home to a diverse population of Turkmens, Arabs, Kurds, ...
and Mosul.


March 27

* U.S. forces take the bridge at
Samawah , nickname = Samawa , settlement_type = City , motto = , image_skyline = مدينة السماوة.jpg , imagesize = , image_caption = Samawah , image_flag = , fl ...
.


March 28

*The U.N. Security Council unanimously adopts a resolution allowing the resumption of the
Oil for Food program The Oil-for-Food Programme (OIP), established by the United Nations in 1995 (under UN Security Council Resolution 986) was established to allow Iraq to sell oil on the world market in exchange for food, medicine, and other humanitarian needs f ...
, suspended on March 18, and which 60% of the Iraqi population relies upon for sustenance. The Secretary General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, underlines that this vote should not be confused with a recognition of the war carried out and with a way to legitimize the military action afterwards. The resolution states that the chief responsibility for addressing humanitarian consequences of the war would fall to the United States and the United Kingdom if they take control of the country. This refers to the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949, which defines the responsibilities of a country in wartime to occupying forces. * U.S. Secretary of Defense
Donald Rumsfeld Donald Henry Rumsfeld (July 9, 1932 – June 29, 2021) was an American politician, government official and businessman who served as Secretary of Defense from 1975 to 1977 under president Gerald Ford, and again from 2001 to 2006 under Presi ...
accuses
Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
of supplying arms and materiel to Iraq; Syria denies these allegations. * The first coalition forces humanitarian aid ship, the RFA ''Sir Galahad'', prepares to dock at the Iraqi port of Umm Qasr at 11:45 p.m. (UTC). * After 2 days of fighting,
Royal Marines The Corps of Royal Marines (RM), also known as the Royal Marines Commandos, are the UK's special operations capable commando force, amphibious light infantry and also one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy. The Corps of Royal Marine ...
from J Company,
42 Commando 42 Commando (42 Cdo) (pronounced as Four-Two Commando) is a subordinate unit within the Royal Marines 3 Commando Brigade. Based at Bickleigh Barracks near Plymouth, personnel regularly deploy outside the United Kingdom on operations or training. ...
, captured the town of Umm Khayyal, killing a number of Fedayeen Saddam fighters. *An Iraqi missile strikes a shopping mall in
Kuwait City Kuwait City ( ar, مدينة الكويت) is the capital and largest city of Kuwait. Located at the heart of the country on the south shore of Kuwait Bay on the Persian Gulf, it is the political, cultural and economical centre of the emirate, ...
. The mall was closed at the time it was hit.


March 29

*The Iraqi Information Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf accuses U.S. forces of killing 140 civilians during the last 24 hours and denies allegations that Iraqi soldiers are disguising themselves as civilians. *An explosion damaged a shopping center in Kuwait City before dawn. Initial reports suggest the cause is a malfunctioning U.S.
cruise missile A cruise missile is a guided missile used against terrestrial or naval targets that remains in the atmosphere and flies the major portion of its flight path at approximately constant speed. Cruise missiles are designed to deliver a large warhe ...
, but later reports focused on an Iraqi Silkworm missile as being responsible. No injuries are reported. *An Iraqi suicide bomber, driving a taxi, kills four U.S. soldiers.


March 31

* U.S. forces kill seven civilians, including women and children, in an automobile whose driver allegedly did not slow down at a checkpoint. According a U.S. official, the family, which was probably trying to flee, did not stop after U.S. forces fired several shots above the car, and then into the car's radiator. * Journalist Peter Arnett is fired by NBC after giving an interview to Iraqi television, which some considered as unfairly critical of the Bush administration's
war on Iraq {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...
. Later in the day, Arnett was hired by a British tabloid, the '' Daily Mirror''. * The U.S. Department of Defense orders Fox News embedded reporter
Geraldo Rivera Geraldo Rivera (born Gerald Riviera; July 4, 1943) is an American journalist, attorney, author, political commentator, and former television host. He hosted the tabloid talk show '' Geraldo'' from 1987 to 1998. He gained publicity with the liv ...
away from its troops and demands him to leave Iraq after accusing him of reporting the positions of U.S. forces.


April 2

*U.S. forces reach the outskirts of Baghdad and encounter fierce fighting from small units of Iraqi Republican Guard. *Kurdish militiamen, aided by U.S. forces, move into Kanilan near Mosul in northern Iraq. Citizens living in the town tell reporters that they are happy that the Iraqi soldiers are gone.


April 3

*U.S. forces take control of
Saddam 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 ...
, in southern Baghdad. They rename the airport to "Baghdad International Airport".


April 4

* MSNBC finds evidence of the deadly toxins
ricin Ricin ( ) is a lectin (a carbohydrate-binding protein) and a highly potent toxin produced in the seeds of the castor oil plant, ''Ricinus communis''. The median lethal dose (LD50) of ricin for mice is around 22 micrograms per kilogram of body ...
, and botulinum at a laboratory in northern Iraq, used as a training camp for Ansar al-Islam, a terrorist group with ties to the al-Qaida terrorist network. The tests conducted by MSNBC were the same type of tests used by U.N. weapons inspectors. U.S. officials said that they planned on conducting their own tests of the area. *Saddam Hussein appears on
Iraqi TV Iraq was home to the first television station in the Middle East, which began during the 1950s. As part of a plan to help Iraq modernize, English telecommunications company Pye Limited built and commissioned a television broadcast station in the ...
for the final time as the country's head of state. *U.S. forces search the Latifiyah Explosives and Ammunition Plant, south of Baghdad, and discover thousands of boxes full of vials of a white powdery substance,
atropine Atropine is a tropane alkaloid and anticholinergic medication used to treat certain types of nerve agent and pesticide poisonings as well as some types of slow heart rate, and to decrease saliva production during surgery. It is typically given i ...
(a nerve agent antidote) and Arabic documents on how to engage in chemical warfare. Early reports suggest that the powdery substance is an explosive, although additional tests are needed. Some vials contained a liquid. The facility had been identified by the International Atomic Energy Agency as a suspected chemical, biological and nuclear weapons site. U.N. weapons inspectors visited the plant at least nine times, including as recently as February 18. Later tests show no forbidden weaponry.


April 6

* Basra becomes the first major Iraqi city to be captured by coalition forces when it comes under British control.


April 8

*The
International Atomic Energy Agency The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is an intergovernmental organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. It was established in 1957 ...
's chief, Mohamed ElBaradei, reiterates a statement he made on March 31 that only the IAEA has a mandate to search for and destroy any nuclear weapons or parts of nuclear weapons that are found in Iraq. * Two American
air to surface missile An air-to-surface missile (ASM) or air-to-ground missile (AGM) is a missile designed to be launched from military aircraft at targets on land or sea. There are also unpowered guided glide bombs not considered missiles. The two most common prop ...
s hit
Al Jazeera Al Jazeera ( ar, الجزيرة, translit-std=DIN, translit=al-jazīrah, , "The Island") is a state-owned Arabic-language international radio and TV broadcaster of Qatar. It is based in Doha and operated by the media conglomerate Al Jazeera ...
's office in Baghdad, killing a reporter and wounding a cameraman. The nearby office of Arab satellite TV channel
Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi (, ; ar, أَبُو ظَبْيٍ ' ) is the capital and second-most populous city (after Dubai) of the United Arab Emirates. It is also the capital of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the centre of the Abu Dhabi Metropolitan Area. ...
is also hit by air strikes. Al-Jazeera accuses the U.S. of attacking civilian media as censorship. On the same day, an American
M1 Abrams The M1 Abrams is a third-generation American main battle tank designed by Chrysler Defense (now General Dynamics Land Systems) and named for General Creighton Abrams. Conceived for modern armored ground warfare and now one of the heaviest ta ...
main battle tank fires into the fifteenth floor of Baghdad's Palestine Hotel, where many foreign journalists are berthed, killing two cameramen and wounding three. In the case of Abu Dhabi, the station airs footage of Iraqi fire coming from underneath the camera's viewpoint. In the hotel's case, however, other journalists on the scene deny any fire from or around the hotel.


April 9

* Baghdad is captured by U.S. forces. Some Iraqis cheer in the streets as U.S. forces capture deserted
Ba'ath Party The Arab Socialist Baʿath Party ( ar, حزب البعث العربي الاشتراكي ' ) was a political party founded in Syria by Mishel ʿAflaq, Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn al-Bītār, and associates of Zaki al-ʾArsūzī. The party espoused B ...
ministry buildings and pull down a huge iron statue of Saddam Hussein, ending his 24-year rule of Iraq. Looting of government offices breaks out and forces fighting for Hussein melt away in large portions of the city.


April 11

* Mosul and
Kirkuk Kirkuk ( ar, كركوك, ku, کەرکووک, translit=Kerkûk, , tr, Kerkük) is a city in Iraq, serving as the capital of the Kirkuk Governorate, located north of Baghdad. The city is home to a diverse population of Turkmens, Arabs, Kurds, ...
captured by American and Kurdish forces.


April 12

*Looting and unrest, especially in major cities such as Baghdad and Basra becomes a very serious issue. In Baghdad, with the notable exception of the Oil Ministry, which was guarded by American soldiers, the majority of government and public buildings are totally plundered, to the point where there is nothing of any value left. This includes the
National Museum of Iraq The Iraq Museum ( ar, المتحف العراقي) is the national museum of Iraq, located in Baghdad. It is sometimes informally called the National Museum of Iraq, a recent phenomenon influenced by other nations' naming of their national museum ...
, with initial reports stating that 170,000 artifacts have been lost. The reports are later discovered to have been exaggerated, with the actual losses ultimately being determined to have been around 15,000 items. Many major hospitals are also looted. The losses caused by looting and plundering starts to cause more and more damage to Iraqi civilian infrastructure, economy, and culture, than those caused by three weeks of coalition bombing.


April 13

* Tikrit, the home town of Saddam Hussein, and the last town not under control of the coalition, was taken by the Marines of Task Force Tripoli. Perhaps to the surprise of many, there was little resistance.


April 15

*With the capture of the Tikrit region, the coalition declares that the war in Iraq is effectively over.


May 1

*U.S. President
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 ...
announces from the flight deck of the
aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a ...
, that major combat operations by the U.S. in Iraq "have ended".


See also

* Iraq disarmament crisis timeline 2001-2003 *
Preparations for 2003 invasion of Iraq The 2003 invasion of Iraq began on March 20. On March 18, US President George W. Bush had set a deadline for the ruler of Iraq, Saddam Hussein, and his two sons, Uday and Qusay, to leave the country or face military action. By the time of the u ...
*
Timeline of the Iraq War The following is a timeline of major events during the Iraq War, following the 2003 invasion of Iraq. 2003 March *March 19: The United States begins the invasion of Iraq; coordinating a satellite-guided Tomahawk cruise missile strike on Bag ...


References


External links

;Collections of news reports:
BBC

CNN
{{DEFAULTSORT:Timeline Of The 2003 Invasion Of Iraq Iraq War Iraq