History of Iraq (2011–present)

February 16, 2016 military situation in Iraq and Syria:
  Controlled by Iraqi government
  Controlled by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS/ISIL)
  Controlled by Iraqi Kurds
  Controlled by Syrian government
  Controlled by Syrian rebels
  Controlled by Syrian Kurds
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The departure of US troops from Iraq in 2011 ended the period of occupation that had begun with the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003. The time since U.S. withdrawal has been marked by a renewed Iraqi insurgency and by a spillover of the Syrian civil war into Iraq. By 2013, the insurgency escalated into a renewed civil war, the central government of Iraq being opposed by various factions, primarily radical Sunni forces.

ISIS forces have seized the majority of Anbar province,[1] including the cities of Fallujah,[2] Al Qaim,[3] Abu Ghraib[4] and (in May 2015) Ramadi,[5] leaving them in control of 90% of Anbar.[6][7] Tikrit, Mosul and most of the Nineveh province, along with parts of Salahuddin, Kirkuk and Diyala provinces, were seized by insurgent forces in the June 2014 offensive.[8] ISIS captured Sinjar and a number of other towns in the August 2014 offensive, but Sinjar became a contested city in December 2014.

Insurgency (2011–2013)

Sectarian violence continued in the first half of 2013 with at least 56 people killed in April when a Sunni protest in Hawija was interrupted by a government-supported helicopter raid. On 20 May 2013, at least 95 people died in a wave of car bomb attacks that was preceded by a car bombing on 15 May that led to 33 deaths; also, on 18 May, 76 people were killed in the Sunni areas of Baghdad.[9][10] On 22 July 2013, at least five hundred convicts, most of whom were senior members of al-Qaida who had received death sentences, broke out of Iraq's Abu Ghraib jail when comrades launched a military-style assault to free them. The attack began when a suicide bomber drove a car packed with explosives into prison gates.[11] James F. Jeffrey, the United States ambassador in Baghdad when the last American troops exited, said the assault and resulting escape "will provide seasoned leadership and a morale boost to Al Qaeda and its allies in both Iraq and Syria ... it is likely to have an electrifying impact on the Sunni population in Iraq, which has been sitting on the fence."[12]

Civil war (2013–2015)

By mid-2014 the country was in chaos with a new government yet to be formed following national elections, and the insurgency reaching new heights. In early June 2014 the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) took over the cities of Mosul and Tikrit and said it was ready to march on Baghdad, while Iraqi Kurdish forces took control of key military installations in the major oil city of Kirkuk. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki asked his parliament to declare a state of emergency that would give him increased powers, but the lawmakers refused.[13]

In the summer of 2014 U.S. President Obama announced a renewed military intervention in the form of aerial support, with the aim of halting the advance of ISIS forces and rendering humanitarian aid to stranded refugees and stabilize the political situation.[14]

Since June 2014, al-Maliki had faced growing pressure to resign, including from the United States.[15] In July 2014, the Kurdish Regional Government demanded his resignation,[16] and his own party (the Islamic Dawa Party) began looking for a new leader.[17]

On 14 August 2014, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki succumbed to the pressure at home and abroad to step down. Iraq's new president, Fuad Masum, appointed a new prime minister, Haider al-Abadi on 19 August 2014.[18] However, for the appointment to take effect, al-Abadi needed to form a government and be confirmed by Parliament, within 30 days.[19] After initially expressing opposition to al-Abadi's selection, al-Maliki endorsed al-Abadi and said he would not stand in the way.[20]

In what was claimed to be revenge for the aerial bombing ordered by President Obama, ISIS, which by this time had changed their name to the Islamic State, beheaded an American journalist, James Foley, who had been kidnapped two years previously. Despite U.S. bombings and breakthroughs on the political front, Iraq remained in chaos with the Islamic State consolidating its gains, and sectarian violence continuing unabated. On 22 August 2014, suspected Shia militants opened fire on a Sunni mosque during Friday prayers, killing 70 worshippers. Separately, Iraqi forces in helicopters killed 30 Sunni fighters in the town of Dhuluiya.[21] A day later, apparently in retaliation for the attack on the mosque, three bombings across Iraq killed 35 people.[22]

The Kurdish Regional Government has participated in fighting ISIL, while also taking other territory (such as Kirkuk).[23] Since August 2014, the U.S. has also been bombing ISIL positions.[24] In late January 2015, Iraqi forces recaptured the entire province of Diyala from the Islamic State.[25] On 2 March, Second Battle of Tikrit began.[26] and after more than a month of hard fighting, Iranians, Iraqis and Shiite militia overcame ISIL fighters and took Tikrit. This success was off-set in late May, by ISIL's capture of the provincial capital of Ramadi in Anbar province.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "John Kerry holds talks in Iraq as more cities fall to ISIS militants". CNN. 23 June 2014.
  2. ↑ "Al Qaeda-linked militants capture Fallujah during violent outbreak". Fox News Channel. 4 January 2014.
  3. ↑ "Militants kill 21 Iraqi leaders, capture 2 border crossings". NY Daily News. Retrieved 14 October 2014.
  4. ↑ "Iraq Update #42: Al-Qaeda in Iraq Patrols Fallujah; Aims for Ramadi, Mosul, Baghdad". Institute for the Study of War. Retrieved 5 January 2014.
  5. ↑ "Isis seizes Ramadi". The Independent. May 18, 2015.
  6. ↑ "Iraq: Shiite Gov't faces Mammoth Task in taking Sunni al-Anbar from ISIL". Informed Comment. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
  7. ↑ "Islamic State overruns Camp Speicher, routs Iraqi forces". Retrieved 14 October 2014.
  8. ↑ Reuters (2014-06-09). "Insurgents in Iraq Overrun Mosul Provincial Government Headquarters". Voanews.com. Retrieved 2014-07-31. "Iraqi city of Mosul falls to jihadists". CBS. 10 June 2014.
  9. ↑ Keith Wagstaff (27 May 2013). "Is Iraq heading toward civil war?". The Week. THE WEEK PUBLICATIONS, INC. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
  10. ↑ Sinan Salaheddin (20 May 2013). "ATTACKS KILL 95 IN IRAQ, HINT OF SYRIAN SPILLOVER". Associated Press. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
  11. ↑ Associated Press in Baghdad (22 July 2013). "Iraq: hundreds escape from Abu Ghraib jail". London: Guardian. Retrieved 19 January 2014.
  12. ↑ Brazen Attacks at Prisons Raise Worries of Al Qaeda's Strength in Iraq, New York Times, By MICHAEL R. GORDON and DURAID ADNAN Published: 23 July 2013
  13. ↑ "Iraq crisis: Isis gains strength near Baghdad as Kurdish forces seize Kirkuk". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
  14. ↑ "Obama Authorizes Air Strikes in Iraq". The New York Times. 8 August 2014. Retrieved 22 August 2014.
  15. ↑ Solomon, Jay and Carol E. Lee (June 19, 2014). "U.S. Signals Iraq's Maliki Should Go". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2014-08-12.
  16. ↑ Rubin, Alissa J. and Alan Cowell (July 10, 2014). "Kurdish Government Calls on Maliki to Quit as Iraqi Premier". The New York Times. Retrieved 2014-08-12.
  17. ↑ Morris, Loveday (July 28, 2014). "Maliki’s party in search of alternative candidate to lead Iraq". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The Washington Post. Retrieved 2014-08-12.
  18. ↑ Madi, Mohamed (11 August 2014). "Profile: Haider al-Abadi, Iraqi PM in waiting". BBC. Retrieved 2014-08-12.
  19. ↑ Ashton, Adam (August 11, 2014). "Haider al Abadi named to replace Maliki as troops take to Baghdad’s streets". McClatchyDC. Retrieved 2014-08-12.
  20. ↑ Al Jazeera English (14 August 2014). "Maliki steps down as Iraqi prime minister". Al Jazeera English. Retrieved 14 August 2014.
  21. ↑ "Attack on Sunni Mosque in Iraq kills dozens". Al Jazeera. 22 August 2014. Retrieved 23 August 2014.
  22. ↑ "UN calls for immediate action to prevent new ISIS massacre in Iraq". Reuters. 23 August 2014. Retrieved 23 August 2014.
  23. ↑ "Kurds take oil-rich Kirkuk amid advance of ISIL insurgency in Iraq". Al Jazeera America. Al Jazeera. 12 June 2014. Retrieved 14 June 2014.
  24. ↑ Nissenbaum, Dion and Julian E. Barnes (August 8, 2014). "U.S. Launches Airstrikes in Iraq". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2014-08-12.
  25. ↑ "Iraq forces 'liberate' Diyala province from IS". Yahoo News. 26 January 2015. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
  26. ↑ "Iraq 'seizes districts from IS' in Tikrit advance". BBC News. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
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