Timeline of the Iraqi insurgency (2011–present)

For events before December 17, 2011, see Timeline of the Iraq War.
Insurgency in Iraq
(post-U.S. withdrawal)
Part of the Arab Winter

A map of the situation in Iraq, as of 4 May 2015. For a map of the current military situation of Iraqi insurgency, see here.
Date18 December 2011 – ongoing
(3 years, 4 months, 2 weeks and 3 days)
LocationIraq (mostly central and northern, including Baghdad)
Result

Ongoing:

  • Significant increase in violence since the U.S. withdrawal, with an increasing number of insurgent large-scale attacks and assaults
  • Most insurgent activity remains in the central and northern parts of Iraq (excluding Iraqi Kurdistan)
  • Resurgence of ISI[1], later transforming to ISIL
  • Insurgent forces seize at least 70% of Anbar province,[2] including the cities of Fallujah,[3][4] Al Qaim,[5] Abu Ghraib,[6] and half of Ramadi[7] during the Anbar campaign
  • Tikrit, Mosul, and most of the Nineveh province, along with parts of Salahuddin and Kirkuk provinces, seized by insurgent forces in the June 2014 offensive[8][9][10][11]
Belligerents

 ISIL

  • Military of ISIL

Ba'ath Party Loyalists

Military Council of Anbar's Revolutionaries[16]

Ansar al-Islam
Mujahideen Army
Ansar al-Sunnah
Supported by:

Iraqi government

 Iran

Supported by:
 Syria[28][29]
(airstrikes)
 Russia[29][30]

Iraqi Kurdistan

Rojava

PKK[31]

PJAK[32]

Yezidi forces

Syriac forces

Supported by:
 Iran[38][39]
International Coalition forces:[40][41]

Special Groups

Hezbollah
Supported by:

Commanders and leaders

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi (Leader of ISIL)
Abu Alaa Afri
(Deputy Leader of ISIL)[54]
Abu Mohammad al-Adnani
(Spokesperson)
Abu Ayman al-Iraqi † (Head of Military Shura)[55][56]
Abu Suleiman al-Naser (Replacement Military Chief)[56]

Abu Muslim al-Turkmani † (Deputy Leader, Iraq)[57]		 Izzat Ibrahim ad-Douri †[58][59][60]
Ismail Jubouri
Abu Hashim al Ibrahim

Fuad Masum
Haider Al-Abadi
Nouri al-Maliki
(2011–2014)
Babaker Shawkat B. Zebari
Massoud Barzani
Ahmad Abu Risha

Muqtada al-Sadr
Qais al-Khazali
Akram al-Kabi
Abu Mustafa al-Sheibani
Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis
Wathiq al-Battat (POW)[61]
Erşad Salihi
Strength

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant:

Ba'ath Party Loyalists

Iraqi Security Forces
600,000 (300,000 Army and 300,000 Police)[75]
Awakening Council militias - 30,000[76]
Contractors ~7,000[77][78]
US Forces 1,000[79]
Canadian Forces 600[80]

Peshmerga: 200,000[81][82]

Special Groups: 7,000[83]
Badr Brigade: 10,000[84]
Insurgent losses
19,044+ killed, 5,529 arrested
(Government figures, December 2011 – April 2015)[85][86][87][88]
Iraqi security forces losses[89][90]
1,668 policemen and 6,388 soldiers killed
3,088 policemen and 3,208 soldiers wounded
(Government figures, December 2011 – April 2015)[85][91]
Civilian casualties
17,186 killed and 18,875 wounded
(Government figures, December 2011 – June 2014)[85][92][93]
Total casualties
42,486 killed
(Government figures, December 2011 – April 2015)[85]
33,256 killed
(civilians and executed prisoners only)
(Iraq body count figures, December 2011 – August 2014)[94][92][93]

The following is a timeline of major events during the Iraqi insurgency (2011–present):

References

  1. ↑ "Al-Qaeda's Resurgence in Iraq: A Threat to U.S. Interests". U.S Department of State. 5 February 2014. Retrieved 26 November 2010.
  2. ↑ "John Kerry holds talks in Iraq as more cities fall to ISIS militants". CNN. 23 June 2014.
  3. ↑ "Al Qaeda-linked militants capture Fallujah during violent outbreak". Fox News Channel. 4 January 2014.
  4. ↑ "Iraq's Fallujah falls to Qaeda militants as 65 killed". 7 News. 5 January 2014.
  5. ↑ "Militants kill 21 Iraqi leaders, capture 2 border crossings". NY Daily News. Retrieved 14 October 2014.
  6. ↑ "Iraq Update #42: Al-Qaeda in Iraq Patrols Fallujah; Aims for Ramadi, Mosul, Baghdad". Institute for the Study of War. Retrieved 5 January 2014.
  7. ↑ "Islamic State overruns Camp Speicher, routs Iraqi forces". Retrieved 14 October 2014.
  8. ↑ "Rebels seize control of Iraq's Nineveh - Middle East". Al Jazeera English. Retrieved 2014-07-31.
  9. ↑ Reuters (2014-06-09). "Insurgents in Iraq Overrun Mosul Provincial Government Headquarters". Voanews.com. Retrieved 2014-07-31.
  10. ↑ "Iraqi city of Mosul falls to jihadists". CBS. 10 June 2014.
  11. ↑ "Jihadists seize areas in Iraq's Kirkuk province: police | News , Middle East". The Daily Star. 2014-06-10. Retrieved 2014-07-31.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Category: POLITICS (2014-07-23). "Baath in Iraq declares war on ISIS". English.shafaaq.com. Retrieved 2014-08-22.
  13. ↑ Hassan, Hassan (17 June 2014). "More Than ISIS, Iraq's Sunni Insurgency". Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Retrieved 20 June 2014.
  14. ↑ "Military council of the rebels starts setting governors on their captured cities". Elaph. Osama Mahdi. Retrieved 13 June 2014.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 "How Syria's civil war is spilling over - Middle East". Al Jazeera English. Retrieved 2014-08-19.
  16. ↑ "استنفار بمدن عراقية واستمرار المعارك بالأنبار" (in Arabic). Al Jazeera. 5 January 2014.
  17. ↑ Eric Schmitt and Alissa J. Rubin. "U.S. and Iraqis Try to Fragment Extremist Group". The New York Times (The New York Times). Retrieved 13 July 2014.
  18. ↑ Jaish al-Rashideen's logo is visible alongside other insurgent groups in this image uploaded to a pro-insurgent Facebook page in December 2014: . Retrieved January 4, 2015.
  19. ↑ Islamic Front for the Iraqi Resistance's logo is visible alongside other those of other insurgent groups in this image uploaded to a pro-insurgent Facebook page in December 2014: . Retrieved January 4, 2015.
  20. ↑ IŞİD Nedir, IŞİD'in Hedefi Nedir, IŞID'i Kimler Destekliyor (in Turkish)
  21. ↑ The Battle for Iraq Is a Saudi War on Iran
  22. ↑ "Qatar denies backing Islamic State group". Retrieved 14 October 2014.
  23. ↑ "BBC News - Islamic State: Where does jihadist group get its support?". BBC News. Retrieved 14 October 2014.
  24. ↑ "How our allies in Kuwait and Qatar funded Islamic State". Telegraph.co.uk. 6 September 2014. Retrieved 14 October 2014.
  25. ↑ "Sunni Opposition to the Islamic State". Middle East Review of International Affairs. 28 September 2014. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
  26. ↑ "5,000 Sunni Militiamen Fighting Alongside the Iraqi Security Forces". 4 March 2015. Retrieved 18 March 2015.
  27. ↑ Tomlinson, Hugh. "Iran's special forces rush in to help floundering ally". The Times. Retrieved 11 June 2014.
  28. ↑ Syria pounds ISIS bases in coordination with Iraq|News, Middle East|THE DAILY STAR
  29. ↑ 29.0 29.1 "BBC News - Iraqi PM welcomes Syria air strike on border crossing". Bbc.com. 2014-06-26. Retrieved 2014-07-31.
  30. ↑ "Iraqi PM Nouri Maliki: Russian jets will turn tide". BBC. 26 June 2014.
  31. ↑ 31.0 31.1 31.2 31.3 31.4 "YNK: PKK and YPG are fighting in Şengal and Rabia against ISIS". 6 August 2014. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
  32. ↑ 32.0 32.1 32.2 "Kurdish PKK Forces Gather to Retake Mahmur Camp and Shingal". Kurdistan Tribute. 8 August 2014. Retrieved 9 August 2014.
  33. ↑ "IS-Terror in Shingal: Wer kämpft gegen wen? Ein Überblick". Êzidî Press. 12 October 2014. Retrieved 17 November 2014.
  34. ↑ "Video: YPG and MFS arrived in Shingal Mountains Sinjar to protect the refugees who fled from Shingal and other Towns News by Suroyo TV 4.8.2014 Western Dialect Source Suroyo TV ~ Frequency". Frequency.com. Retrieved 2014-08-19.
  35. ↑ "Christians in Iraq Forming Militia to Defend, and Possibly Retake, Ancestral Lands". Site.
  36. ↑ Motlagh, Jason. "Iraqi Christians under threat yet again". Gulf News. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
  37. ↑ "Dwekh Nawsha- An Assyrian Fighting Force in Iraq". Aymenn Jawad al-Tamimi. 6 November 2014. Retrieved 7 November 2014.
  38. ↑ "Iranian Forces Fight Alongside Peshmerga In Jalawla". BasNews. 17 August 2014. Retrieved 17 August 2014.
  39. ↑ "Iranˈs humanitarian aid to Iraqi Kurdistan region delivered". Reliefweb. 7 August 2014. Retrieved 16 August 2014.
  40. ↑ "Obama Enlists 9 Allies to Help in the Battle Against ISIS". The New York Times. 6 September 2014.
  41. ↑ "US announces coalition to fight Islamic State". Al Jazeera English. 6 September 2014.
  42. ↑ Adam Vidler. "Australia to take up military role in Iraq conflict". Retrieved 2014-08-31.
  43. ↑ 43.0 43.1 "Seven Countries to sell weapons to Kurds". BasNews. 14 August 2014. Retrieved 24 August 2014.
  44. ↑ "Enhedslisten støtter dansk våbenfly til kurdere i Irak" (in Danish). DR. DR. 24 August 2014. Retrieved 24 August 2014.
  45. ↑ "Iraq crisis: Barack Obama sends in US troops as Isis insurgency worsens". The Guardian. 17 June 2014.
  46. ↑ "Obama authorises airstrikes in Iraq". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
  47. ↑ "Two US fighter jets strike ISIS artillery in Iraq's Kurdistan - Pentagon". Russia Today. 8 August 2014.
  48. ↑ "Albania sending weapons to Kurdish forces in Iraq". NOW News. 28 August 2014. Retrieved 28 August 2014.
  49. ↑ Klix.ba. "BiH će Iraku donirati više od 15 miliona metaka za borbu protiv IDIL-a". klix.ba(In Bosnian). Bosnia and Herzegovina. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  50. ↑ "Hrvatska u borbi protiv islamista: Na zahtjev SAD-a šaljemo oružje za iračku vojsku". Jutarnji list (in Croatian). 21 August 2014. Retrieved 22 August 2014.
  51. ↑ "Iraq crisis: Britain ready to arm Kurds as EU meets – live updates". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 August 2014.
  52. ↑ "Estonia donates small-arms ammo to Iraqi Kurds". 2 September 2014. Retrieved 3 September 2014.
  53. ↑ "Hungary to send ammunitions to Iraq". Politics.hu. Retrieved 14 October 2014.
  54. ↑ http://www.businessinsider.com/report-a-former-physics-teacher-is-now-leading-isis-2015-4
  55. ↑ "Military Skill and Terrorist Technique Fuel Success of ISIS". New York Times. 27 August 2014. Retrieved 21 October 2014.
  56. ↑ 56.0 56.1 http://www.ibtimes.com/if-isis-leader-abu-bakr-al-baghdadi-killed-who-caliph-islamic-state-group-1721638
  57. ↑ Matt Bradley and Ghassan Adnan in Baghdad, and Felicia Schwartz in Washington (10 November 2014). "Coalition Airstrikes Targeted Islamic State Leaders Near Mosul". WSJ.
  58. ↑ Arango, Tim; Al-Salhy, Suadad; Cowell, Alan (12 June 2014). "Iraq Fractures Deepen as Kurds Take an Oil Town". The New York Times. New York City: The New York Times Company. Archived from the original on 2014-06-12. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
  59. ↑ June 12, 2014 11:49 BST (2014-06-12). "Iraq Crisis: Saddam Hussein's Generals Fighting with Jihadist ISIS Insurgency". Ibtimes.co.uk. Retrieved 2014-07-31.
  60. ↑ Brian Ries2014-06-13 17:08:56 UTC (2014-06-13). "Iraq Implodes: What You Need to Know". Mashable.com. Retrieved 2014-07-31.
  61. ↑ "Iraqi security forces arrest Shiite militia leader". The Daily Star. Retrieved 2 January 2014.
  62. ↑ "Islamic State 'has 50,000 fighters in Syria'". Al Jazeera. 19 August 2014. Retrieved 19 August 2014.
  63. ↑ "ISIS has 100,000 fighters, growing fast – Iraqi govt adviser". RT. Retrieved 2 October 2014.
  64. ↑ "ISIS militants have army of 200,000, claims senior Kurdish leader". El-balad.com. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
  65. ↑ "MEI Editor's Blog: The Fight for Samarra: did ISIS Use a Helicopter?". Middle East Institute Editor's Blog.
  66. ↑ "U.S.-led forces drop nearly 5,000 bombs on ISIS". Al Arabiya. 8 January 2015. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
  67. ↑ "Now ISIS has drones?". CNN. 24 August 2014.
  68. ↑ "Footage From an ISIS Drone". NYTimes.com - Video. 30 August 2014. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
  69. ↑ "ISIS: We Nabbed an Iranian Drone". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
  70. ↑ Knights, Michael (1 July 2011). "The JRTN Movement and Iraq’s Next Insurgency". Combating Terrorism Center at West Point.
  71. ↑ Colin Freeman (18 May 2013). "Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri: the King of Clubs is back, and he may yet prove to be Saddam Hussein's trump card". The Telegraph.
  72. ↑ Daniel Cassman. "Islamic Army in Iraq | Mapping Militant Organizations". Stanford.edu. Retrieved 2012-09-14.
  73. ↑ Heras, Nicholas A. "The Tribal Component of Iraq’s Sunni Rebellion: The General Military Council for Iraqi Revolutionaries". The Jamestown Foundation. Retrieved 12 September 2014.
  74. ↑ usatoday.com (October 9, 2012). "Al-Qaeda making comeback in Iraq, officials say". Qassim Abdul-Zahra, Associated Press.
  75. ↑ Collins, Chris (19 August 2007). "U.S. says Iranians train Iraqi insurgents". McClatchy Newspapers.
  76. ↑ "A Dark Side to Iraq 'Awakening' Groups". International Herald Tribune. www.military.com. 4 January 2008. Retrieved 22 April 2012.
  77. ↑ Miller, T. Christian (4 July 2007). "Private contractors outnumber U.S. troops in Iraq". Los Angeles Times.
  78. ↑ Roberts, Michelle (24 February 2007). "Contractor deaths add up in Iraq". Deseret Morning News.
  79. ↑ "U.S. mission in Iraq could expand, Pentagon official says". Navy Times. Retrieved 14 October 2014.
  80. ↑ http://www.forces.gc.ca/en/operations-abroad-current/op-impact.page
  81. ↑ http://www.latimes.com/world/middleeast/la-fg-iraq-peshmerga-training-20141009-story.html#page=1
  82. ↑ http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/08/13/uk-iraq-security-peshmerga-idUKKBN0GD1N820140813
  83. ↑ "June deadliest month for U.S. troops in 2 years". USA Today. Associated Press. 30 May 2011.
  84. ↑ Beehner, Lionel (9 June 2005). "IRAQ: Militia Groups". Council on Foreign Relations.
  85. ↑ 85.0 85.1 85.2 85.3 "Iraq Government Casualty Figures via AFP (Google Docs)". Docs.google.com. Retrieved 2014-07-31.
  86. ↑ "Airstrikes 'kill 8,500' ISIL fighters says U.S. general". World Bulletin. 23 February 2015.
  87. ↑ "US-led air strikes on Syria ISIL targets 'kill 1,600'". Al-Jazeera. February 23, 2014. Retrieved February 23, 2014.
  88. ↑ 3,591 killed by Iraqi forces in January 2015 (since 1,000 ISIL militants in Iraq were killed by Coalition airstrikes in January 2015), 2,231 killed by Iraqi forces in February 2015 (since Coalition-inflicted ISIL casualties in Iraq had increased from 4,800 to 7,000 by late February 2015), 4,262 ISIL militants killed in Iraq from 1 March–1 April 2015, a total of 13,282 ISIL casualties in Iraq from 1 January–1 April 2015
  89. ↑ "Iraq: Troops swell in Baghdad amid humanitarian chaos". CNN. 11 August 2014. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
  90. ↑ John Beck (8 September 2014). "Iraqi Forces Have Pushed Back Islamic State Fighters From the Haditha Dam". Vice News. Retrieved 14 September 2014.
  91. ↑ 1,587 killed in January 2015, 1,097 killed in February 2015, 1,914 killed in March 2015, a total of 4,597 killed in early 2015 (including security forces and civilians)
  92. ↑ 92.0 92.1 Hopkins, Steve (14 October 2014). "Full horror of the Yazidis who didn’t escape Mount Sinjar: UN confirms 5,000 men were executed and 7,000 women are now kept as sex slaves". The Daily Mail. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
  93. ↑ 93.0 93.1 U.S. Won’t Admit to Killing a Single Civilian in the ISIS War
  94. ↑