The Iraq War Hostile_encounter was a protracted armed conflict Hostile_encounter that began Process_start in 2003 with the invasion Attack of Iraq by a United States-led coalition that overthrew Change_of_leadership the government of Saddam Hussein .

The Iraq War Hostile_encounter was a protracted armed conflict Hostile_encounter that began Process_start in 2003 with the invasion Attack of Iraq by a United States-led coalition that overthrew Change_of_leadership the government of Saddam Hussein .

In 2009 , official US troops were withdrawn Escaping , but American soldiers continued to remain Presence on the ground fighting in Iraq , hired Employment by defence contractors and private military companies .

In October 2002 , Congress authorized Preventing_or_letting President Bush to use Using military force against Iraq should he choose Choosing to .

The Iraq War began Process_start on 19 March 2003 , when the U.S. , joined Becoming_a_member by the U.K. and several coalition allies , launched Process_start a `` shock and awe '' bombing campaign .

Many violent insurgent groups were supported Supply by Iran and al-Qaeda in Iraq .

The surge in troops gave Giving greater security to Iraq 's government and military , and was largely a success .

The winding down of U.S. involvement in Iraq accelerated Change_event_time under President Barack Obama .

The U.S. formally withdrew Escaping all combat troops from Iraq by December 2011 .

The Bush administration based its rationale for the war principally on the assertion that Iraq , which had been viewed Perception_active by the U.S. as a rogue state since the 1990–1991 Gulf War , supposedly possessed an active weapons of mass destruction ( WMDs ) program , and that the Iraqi government posed Causation a threat to the United States and its coalition allies .

Some U.S. officials falsely accused Judgment_communication Saddam of harbouring and supporting Supporting al-Qaeda , while others cited Adducing the desire to end Process_end a repressive dictatorship and bring Bringing democracy to the people of Iraq .

No stockpiles of WMDs or an active WMD program were ever found Know in Iraq .

In the aftermath of the invasion Attack , Iraq held Hold multi-party elections Choosing in 2005 .

In the summer of 2014 , the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant ( ISIL ) launched a military offensive in northern Iraq and declared Expressing_publicly a worldwide Islamic caliphate , eliciting Causation another military response from the United States and its allies .

In the summer of 2014 , the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant ( ISIL ) launched a military offensive in northern Iraq and declared Expressing_publicly a worldwide Islamic caliphate , eliciting Causation another military response from the United States and its allies .

The Iraq War caused Causation over a hundred thousand civilian deaths and tens of thousands of military deaths ( see estimates below ) .

In 811 , al-Amin 's troops marched Self_motion against Khurasan , but al-Ma'mun 's general Tahir ibn Husayn defeated Conquering them in the Battle Hostile_encounter of Rayy , and then invaded Attack Iraq and besieged Besieging Baghdad itself .

Two IRAF MiG-25s fired Use_firearm missiles at a group of F-15Cs escorting a bombing Attack run in Iraq ( which were evaded by the F-15s ) .

This is Iraq 's only success of the Arab Gulf War using Using MiG-23s .

Fifteen minutes after takeoff , a man armed with a pen gun hijacked Kidnapping the aircraft and demanded Request to be taken to Baghdad , Iraq .

In addition to those three factions , there are also smaller rival groups : the Islamist Shura Council of Benghazi Revolutionaries , led by Ansar al-Sharia , which has had the support of the GNC and was defeated Conquering in Benghazi in 2017 ; the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant 's ( ISIL 's ) Libyan provinces ; the Shura Council of Mujahideen in Derna which expelled Removing ISIL from Derna in July 2015 and was later itself defeated Conquering in Derna by the Tobruk government in 2018 ; as well as many militias and armed groups , whose allegiances often change Change .

Israel suspects Tehran is pursuing Aiming the goal of forming Coming_to_be a continuous land transport Sending route from Iran via Iraq and Syria to Lebanon , and if Tehran succeeds `` it would be a strategic game-changer . ''

Iran , in contact Connect with the U.S. over the fight Hostile_encounter against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria has said Telling that Israel would be at risk if the U.S. and its coalition sought to topple Assad .

Operation Military_operation Arbead II was an operation Military_operation of the Iraq War Hostile_encounter .

Operation Military_operation Together Forward , also known as Forward Together ( Arabic : عملية معاً إلى الأمام , Amaliya Ma ’ an ila Al-Amam ) , was an unsuccessful security plan Arranging in Iraq to significantly reduce Cause_change_of_position_on_a_scale the violence Violence in Baghdad which had seen Perception_active a sharp uprise since the mid-February 2006 bombing Attack of the Askariya Mosque , a major Shiite Muslim shrine , in Samarra .

The Second Battle Hostile_encounter of Fallujah—code-named Operation `` Al-Fajr '' ( Arabic : الفجر `` the dawn '' ) and Operation Phantom Fury—was a joint American , Iraqi government , and British offensive in November and December 2004 , considered the highest point of conflict in Fallujah during the Iraq War .

The second battle was the bloodiest battle of the entire Iraq War , and is notable for being the first major engagement of the Iraq War fought Hostile_encounter solely against insurgents rather than the forces of the former Ba'athist Iraqi government , which was deposed Change_of_leadership in 2003 .

The second battle was the bloodiest battle of the entire Iraq War , and is notable for being the first major engagement of the Iraq War fought Hostile_encounter solely against insurgents rather than the forces of the former Ba'athist Iraqi government , which was deposed Change_of_leadership in 2003 .

For the first year of the mission , northern Iraq was quiet , with no combat Hostile_encounter between Coalition aircraft and Iraqi forces .

After Desert Fox , Iraq announced Expressing_publicly they would no longer recognize Justifying the no-fly zones and urged their troops to attack Attack Coalition aircraft .

On December 28 , 1998 Iraq fired Use_firearm SA-3 surface to air missiles against coalition aircraft patrolling Patrolling the northern no-fly zone .

From December 1998 to March 1999 , U.S. aircraft over northern Iraq came Motion under almost daily fire from Iraqi surface-to-air missile sites and anti-aircraft guns .

Low level conflict Hostile_encounter continued up until the invasion Attack of Iraq in 2003 , although the number of response Response incidents declined Cause_change_of_position_on_a_scale dramatically after 1999 .

The 1950–1951 Baghdad bombings were a series of bombings Terrorism of Jewish targets Aiming in Baghdad , Iraq , between April 1950 and June 1951 .

The 2003 invasion Attack of Iraq was the first stage of the Iraq War Military_operation .

The 2003 invasion Attack of Iraq was the first stage of the Iraq War Military_operation .

The invasion phase began Process_start on 19 March 2003 and lasted just over one month , including 21 days of major combat operations Military_operation , in which a combined force of troops from the United States , the United Kingdom , Australia and Poland invaded Attack Iraq .

U.S. military forces later remained Temporary_stay in Iraq until the withdrawal Removing in 2011 .

The U.S.-led coalition sent Sending 177,194 troops into Iraq during the initial invasion phase , which lasted from 19 March to 1 May 2003 .

According to U.S. President George W. Bush and U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair , the coalition aimed Aiming `` to disarm Removing Iraq of weapons of mass destruction , to end Process_end Saddam Hussein 's support Supporting for terrorism Terrorism , and to free Releasing the Iraqi people . ''

According to Blair , the trigger Causation was Iraq 's failure Earnings_and_losses to take Getting a `` final Process_end opportunity '' to disarm Removing itself of alleged Statement nuclear , chemical , and biological weapons that U.S. and British officials called an immediate and intolerable threat Catastrophe to world peace .

In a January 2003 CBS poll Research , 64 % of Americans had approved Agree_or_refuse_to_act of military action against Iraq ; however , 63 % wanted Request Bush to find Creating a diplomatic solution rather than go to war Military_operation , and 62 % believed Know the threat Terrorism of terrorism Terrorism directed Aiming against the U.S. would increase Cause_change_of_position_on_a_scale due to war .

The invasion Attack of Iraq was strongly opposed Agree_or_refuse_to_act by some long-standing U.S. allies , including the governments of France , Canada , Germany , and New Zealand .

Their leaders argued Quarreling that there was no evidence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and that invading Attack that country was not justified Justifying in the context of UNMOVIC 's 12 February 2003 report .

And while hundreds of chemical weapons were found Know in Iraq after the invasion Attack , they determined Deciding to be produced Manufacturing before the 1991 Gulf War , from years earlier in Saddam Hussein 's rule Control and were unusable .

About 5,000 chemical warheads , shells or aviation bombs were discovered Know during the Iraq War Military_operation , but as these had been built Building and abandoned GiveUp before 1991 , the discoveries Know of these chemical weapons also did not support Supporting the government 's invasion rationale .

On 15 February 2003 , a month before the invasion Attack , there were worldwide protests Judgment_communication against the Iraq War , including a rally Social_event of three million people in Rome , which the Guinness Book of Records listed Recording as the largest ever anti-war rally Social_event .

According to the French academic Dominique Reynié , between 3 January and 12 April 2003 , 36 million people across the globe took part Dispersal in almost 3,000 protests Judgment_communication against the Iraq war .

While special forces launched Process_start an amphibious assault Attack from the Persian Gulf to secure Getting Basra and the surrounding Surrounding petroleum fields , the main invasion army moved Motion into southern Iraq , occupying Control the region and engaging Participation in the Battle Hostile_encounter of Nasiriyah on 23 March .

The main body of coalition forces continued their drive Motion into the heart of Iraq and met with little resistance Defending .