Timeline of the Iraq War
The following is a timeline of major events during the Multinational Force's Occupation of Iraq, following the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
2003
March
- March 20: U.S. attacks Baghdad, Iraq, with missiles and bombs. U.K. and U.S. ground troops move into Iraq. Military occupation begins.
May
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.
July
- July 2: President Bush challenges those attacking US troops to "Bring 'em on!"
- July 13: The Iraqi Governing Council is established under the authority of the US Coalition Provisional Authority.
- July 22: Uday and Qusay Hussein, Saddam Hussein's sons, are killed in Mosul
August
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 removal was worth the hardships they've been forced to endure.
October
- October 2: David Kay's Iraq Survey Group report finds little evidence of WMD in Iraq, 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 a find clandestine "network of biological laboratories" 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.
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 missiles and one crashes near Fallujah and on its way to Baghdad airport; 16 soldiers are killed and 20 wounded.[2][3]
- November 15: The Governing Council unveils an accelerated timetable for transferring the country to Iraqi control.
- November 30: The US military reports killing 46 militants and wounding 18 in clashes in the central city of Samarra. The reports are later called into question as reporters interview residents of the city. Hospital staff only reports eight dead - most or all of them civilians, including an elderly Iranian pilgrim. No bodies of dead guerillas are found.
December
2004
January
February
- February 21: U.S. permits Red Cross to visit Saddam Hussein for first time since his capture in December.
March
April
- April 4: Beginning of violent clashes between the coalition and followers of Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, which will end at the end of August 2004.
May
June
July
August
September
- September 30: A car bomb strikes an American Humvee handing out candy to children, killing up to 35 children.
October
November
December
2005
January
February
- February 28: 2005 Al Hillah bombing: 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.
March
April
- April 28: The Parliament votes its trust towards the new government.
May
- May 8: Battle of Al Qaim, 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
August
- 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.
September
October
November
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 Iraqi legislative election, December 2005
2006
February
March
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 IED.
May
June
July
August
October
November
- November 19: Ammar al-Saffar, Deputy Health Minister, becomes the highest-ranking Iraqi to be kidnapped.
December
2007
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
2008
January
February
March
July
October
November
2009
January
May
July 25
August
October
December
2010
March
August
References
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United States Marine Corps portal |
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Iraq portal |
- ^ http://www.iraqcoalition.org/regulations/20030823_CPAORD_2_Dissolution_of_Entities_with_Annex_A.pdf
- ^ . http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=DWZGY4XS5WOC4CRBAEZSFFA?type=topNews&storyID=3737651.
- ^ "U.S. helicopter shot down in Iraq". CNN. November 2, 2003. http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/11/02/sprj.irq.int.main/index.html. Retrieved April 10, 2010.
- ^ "Bush Makes Surprise Visit to Troops in Baghdad – Fox News". Fox News. October 20, 2011. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,104246,00.html.
- ^ . http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/11/27/thanksgiving.rdp/index.html.
- ^ "How Bush was whisked to Iraq". BBC News. November 28, 2003. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/3245120.stm. Retrieved April 10, 2010.
- ^ "Iraqis mourn Shia massacre dead". BBC News. March 3, 2004. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3527221.stm. Retrieved April 10, 2010.
- ^ Peter Baker (2006-10-24). "Bush's New Tack Steers Clear of 'Stay the Course'". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/23/AR2006102301053.html.
- ^ At least 26 dead as bombs, shootings shatter Iraq lull. Retrieved on 11 February 2009
- ^ U.S. Casualties in Operation Iraqi Freedom January 2009. GlobalSecurity.Org, Retrieved on 12 February 2009
- ^ U.K. Finishes Withdrawal of Its Last Combat Troops in Iraq
- ^ Iraq coalition casualty count
- ^ (Al Jazeera)