Iraqi civil war (2006–2008)

Middle Eastern conflict (2006–2008)

This article is about the civil war that started in 2006. For the broader conflict, see Iraq War. For the entire conflict from 2003 to the present, see Iraqi conflict (2003–present). For other wars in Iraq, see Iraq War (disambiguation).

Iraqi civil war

Part of the Iraq War

A city street in Ramadi heavily damaged by the fighting in 2006
| Date| 22 February 2006 - 15 May 2008[3]
(2 years, 2 months, 3 weeks and 2 days)

|

Location|

Iraq

Result|

Short-term Iraqi government and allied victory[4]

* Attempt of ethnic cleansing of Shias by Islamic State of Iraq (ISI)
* 4 million people displaced
* American troop surge in 2007
* Iraqi counter-offensive into southern Iraq in early 2008
* Ceasefire signed with Mahdi Army in May 2008
* Islamic State of Iraq territorially defeated by mid-2008
* Presence of British and American troops in advise and assist roles until 2011[5]
* Continued ISI insurgency in Iraq[6]
* Resurgence of Islamic State of Iraq, which later severed relations with Al-Qaeda and established the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) in 2013; following the 2011 withdrawal of American troops from Iraq[4]

Belligerents
Iraq
United States
United Kingdom[1]
Other coalition forces
Private Security Contractors
Peshmerga
Sons of Iraq[2]|

Mahdi Army

* Special Groups
* Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq
* Kata'ib Hezbollah
* Promised Day Brigades
* Badr Brigades
* Rogue elements among the Iraqi security forces
* Soldiers of Heaven
* Shia tribes
* Other militias

Al-Qaeda and allies:
Mujahideen Shura Council (until October 2006)

* Al-Qaeda in Iraq
* Jaish al-Ta'ifa al-Mansurah
* Jama'at Jaysh Ahl al-Sunnah wal-Jama'ah

Ansar al-Sunna
Islamic Army in Iraq
Sunni tribes
Other Sunni insurgent groups

Islamic State of Iraq (from 15 October 2006)

* * *

Ba'athist insurgents and allies:
Iraqi Ba'ath Party

* SCJL
* Naqshbandi Army
* Members of Ba'athist Iraqi military

Jeish Muhammad
Commanders and leaders
Jalal Talabani
Masoud Barzani
Ibrahim al-Jaafari
Nouri al-Maliki
Tommy Franks
Abdul Sattar Abu Risha †
Ahmed Abu Risha|  Muqtada al-Sadr
Abu Deraa
Akram al-Kaabi
Qais al-Khazali (POW)
Arkan Hasnawi †
Abdul Aziz al-Hakim
Hadi al-Amiri
Abu Mustafa al-Sheibani
Dia Abdul Zahra Kadim †
Ahmed Hassani al-Yemeni †|  Abu Omar al-Baghdadi
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi †
Abu Abdullah al-Shafi'i (POW)
Abu Ayyub al-Masri
Abu Suleiman al-Naser
Ishmael Jubouri

* * *

Saddam Hussein
Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri
Mohammed Younis al-Ahmed
Fakri Hadi Gari (POW)

Strength
Iraqi Security Forces
618,000 (805,269 Army and 348,000 Police)[7]
Coalition
~49,700
Contractors
~7,000[8][9]
Awakening Council militias
103,000[10]|  Mahdi Army: 60,000 (2003–2008)[11]
Badr Organisation: 20,000[12]
Soldiers of Heaven: 1,000[13]
Special Groups: 7,000 (2011)[14]|  Sunni insurgents: 70,000 (2003–2007)[15]

* * *

Foreign Mujahedeen: 1,300[16]
69,760 recorded civilian deaths (2006–2008)[17]
151,000–1,033,000 Iraqi deaths (2003–2008)

* v
* t
* e

Persian Gulf Wars

* Iran–Iraq War (1980–1988)
* Gulf War (1990–1991)
* Invasion of Kuwait (1990)
* Iraqi Kurdish/Shi'a uprisings (1991)
* Iraq no-fly zones conflict (1991–2003)
* Iraq air strikes (January 1993)
* Iraq missile strikes (1993)
* Iraq missile strikes (1996)
* Iraq bombing (1998)
* 1999 Shia uprising in Iraq
* Iraqi conflict (2003–present)
* Iraq War (2003–2011)
* Iraqi insurgency (2003–2006)
* Iraqi civil war (2006–2008)
* Iraqi insurgency (2008–2011)
* Iraqi insurgency (2011–2013)
* War in Iraq (2013–2017)
* Islamic State insurgency in Iraq (2017–present)

* v
* t
* e

Iraq War (Outline)

Timeline

* 2003
* 2004
* 2005
* 2006
* 2007
* 2008
* 2009
* 2010
* 2011

Invasion (2003)

* Umm Qasr
* Al Faw
* 1st Basra
* Nasiriyah
* Raid on Karbala
* Haditha Dam
* 1st Najaf
* Northern Delay
* Viking Hammer
* Samawah
* 1st Karbala
* Al Kut
* Hillah
* Green Line
* Karbala Gap
* Debecka Pass
* Kani Domlan Ridge
* Baghdad

Post-invasion insurgency (2003–2006)

* Al Anbar
* Killing of Qusay & Uday Hussein
* 1st Ramadan
* Latifiya
* Capture of Saddam Hussein
* Spring 2004
* City Hall
* Al Kut [uk]
* 1st Fallujah
* Sadr City
* 1st Ramadi
* Good Friday
* Husaybah
* Danny Boy
* 2nd Najaf
* CIMIC-House
* Samarra
* 2nd Fallujah
* Mosul
* Lake Tharthar
* Al Qa'im
* Hit
* Haditha
* Steel Curtain
* Tal Afar
* 2nd Ramadi
* Together Forward
* Diwaniya

Civil war (2006–2008)

* 2nd Ramadan
* Sinbad
* Amarah
* Turki
* Diyala
* Haifa Street
* Karbala Raid
* 3rd Najaf
* Imposing Law
* U.K. bases
* Black Eagle
* Baghdad belts
* Baqubah
* Donkey Island
* Shurta Nasir
* Phantom Strike
* 2nd Karbala
* Phantom Phoenix

Insurgency (2008–2011)

* 2008 Day of Ashura
* Nineveh
* Spring 2008
* 2nd Basra
* 2008 al-Qaeda Offensive
* Augurs of Prosperity
* Abu Kamal
* Palm Grove
* Camp Ashraf
* US withdrawal violence

* v
* t
* e

List of bombings during the Iraq War

‡ indicates attacks resulting in over 100 deaths
§ indicates the deadliest attack in the Iraq War
This list only includes major attacks.

2003
1st Baghdad
2nd Baghdad
Najaf
3rd Baghdad
1st Nasiriyah
1st Karbala

2004
‡ 1st Erbil
‡ Ashoura
1st Basra
1st Mosul
4th Baghdad
5th Baghdad
Karbala & Najaf
1st Baqubah
Kufa
Marez

2005
Suwaira bombing
‡ 1st Al Hillah
2nd Erbil
‡ Musayyib
6th Baghdad
‡ 7th Baghdad
1st Balad
Khanaqin

2006
‡ Karbala-Ramadi
1st Samarra
8th Baghdad
9th Baghdad
‡ 10th Baghdad

2007
11th Baghdad
12th Baghdad
‡ 13th Baghdad
14th Baghdad
15th Baghdad
‡ 2nd Al Hillah
‡ 1st Tal Afar
16th Baghdad
17th Baghdad
2nd & 3rd Karbala
2nd Mosul
‡ 18th Baghdad
Makhmour
Abu Sayda
2nd Samarra
19th Baghdad
‡ Amirli
1st Kirkuk
20th Baghdad
21st Baghdad
§ Qahtaniya
Amarah

2008
22nd Baghdad
2nd Balad
23rd Baghdad
4th Karbala
24th Baghdad
Karmah
2nd Baqubah
Dujail
Balad Ruz

2009
25th Baghdad
26th Baghdad
Baghdad-Muqdadiyah
Taza
27th Baghdad
2nd Kirkuk
2nd Tal Afar
‡ 28th Baghdad
‡ 29th Baghdad
‡ 30th Baghdad

2010
31st Baghdad
32nd Baghdad
3rd Baqubah
33rd Baghdad
34th Baghdad
35th Baghdad
‡ 1st Pan-Iraq
36th Baghdad
37th Baghdad
2nd Pan-Iraq
38th Baghdad
39th Baghdad
‡ 40th Baghdad

2011
41st Baghdad
‡ 3rd Pan-Iraq
Karbala-Baghdad
42nd Baghdad
Tikrit
3rd Al Hillah
3rd Samarra
Al Diwaniyah
Taji
4th Pan-Iraq
43rd Baghdad
4th Karbala
44th Baghdad
2nd Basra
45th Baghdad

The Iraqi civil war was an armed conflict from 2006 to 2008 between various sectarian Shia and Sunni armed groups, such as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Mahdi Army, in addition to the Iraqi government alongside American-led coalition forces.[18][19][20][21][22] In February 2006, the insurgency against the coalition and government escalated into a sectarian civil war after the bombing of Al-Askari Shrine, considered a holy site in Twelver Shi'ism. US President George W. Bush and Iraqi officials accused Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) of orchestrating the bombing. AQI publicly denied any links.[23] The incident set off a wave of attacks on Sunni civilians by Shia militants, followed by attacks on Shia civilians by Sunni militants.[24]

The UN Secretary General stated in September 2006 that if patterns of discord and violence continued, the Iraqi state was in danger of breaking up.[25] On 10 January 2007, Bush said that "80% of Iraq's sectarian violence occurs within 30 miles (48 km) of the capital. This violence is splitting Baghdad into sectarian enclaves, and shakes the confidence of all Iraqis."[26] By late 2007, the National Intelligence Estimate described the conflict as having elements of a civil war.[27] In 2008, during the Sunni Awakening and the U.S. troop surge, violence declined dramatically.[28][29] However, an insurgency by ISI continued to plague Iraq following the U.S. withdrawal in late 2011.[30] In June 2014, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, the successor to Islamic State of Iraq, launched a major military offensive against the Iraq government and declared a self-proclaimed worldwide Islamic caliphate. This led to another full-scale war from 2013 to 2017, in which the government declared victory.[31]

In October 2006, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the Iraqi government estimated that more than 370,000 Iraqis had been displaced since 2006, bringing the total number of Iraqi refugees to more than 1.6 million.[32] By 2008, the UNHCR raised the estimate to about 4.7 million (~16% of the population). The number estimated abroad was 2 million (a number close to CIA projections[33]) and the number of internally displaced people was 2.7 million.[34] The Red Cross stated in 2008 that Iraq's humanitarian situation was among the most critical in the world, with millions of Iraqis forced to rely on insufficient and poor-quality water sources.[35]

According to the Failed States Index, produced by Foreign Policy and the Fund for Peace, Iraq was one of the world's top 5 unstable states from 2005 to 2008.[36]

## Participants

[edit]

Main articles: Al-Qaeda in Iraq, Iraqi insurgency (Iraq War), and Private militias in Iraq

A multitude of groups formed the Iraqi insurgency, which arose in a piecemeal fashion as a reaction to local events, notably the realisation of the U.S. military's inability to control Iraq.[37] Beginning in 2005 the insurgent forces coalesced around several main factions, including the Islamic Army in Iraq and Ansar al-Sunna.[38] Religious justification was used to support the political actions of these groups, as well as a marked adherence to Salafism, branding those against the jihad as non-believers. This approach played a role in the rise of sectarian violence.[39] The U.S. military also believed that between 5 and 10% of insurgent forces were non-Iraqi Arabs.[37]

Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) and groups associated with it steadily became a brutal and wasteful foreign occupation force, engaging Yemeni, Saudi, Moroccan, Palestinian, Syrian and Lebanese foreign fighters.[40] Independent Shi'a militias identified themselves around sectarian ideology and possessed various levels of influence and power. Some militias were founded in exile and returned to Iraq only after the toppling of Saddam Hussein, such as the Badr Organization. Others were created since the state collapse, the largest and most uniform of which was the Mahdi Army established by Muqtada al-Sadr and believed to have around 50,000 fighters.[37]

## Conflict and tactics

[edit]

### Non-military targets

[edit]

Attacks on non-military and civilian targets began in August 2003 as an attempt to sow chaos and sectarian discord. Iraqi casualties increased over the next several years.[41][42]

By the end of 2008, where the civil war had ended, there was evidence of a decrease in civilian casualties, and likewise in ethno-sectarian casualties. The commanding general of the Multi-National Force-Iraq (MNF-I), Raymond Odierno, testified before the House Armed Services Committee in September 2009 that overall attacks had decreased 85% in the last two years from 4064 in August 2007 to 594 in August. 2009: with 563 attacks in September (through September 28).[43]

Aftermath of a car bombing in Baghdad in December 2007

### Bomb and mortar attacks

[edit]

Bomb attacks aimed at civilians usually targeted crowded places such as marketplaces and mosques in Shi'a cities and districts.[44][45] The bombings, which were sometimes co-ordinated, often inflicted extreme casualties.

For example, the 23 November 2006 Sadr City bombings killed at least 215 people and injured hundreds more in the Sadr City district of Baghdad, sparking reprisal attacks, and the 3 February 2007 Baghdad market bombing killed at least 135 and injured more than 300. The co-ordinated 2 March 2004 Iraq Ashura bombings (including car bombs, suicide bombers and mortar, grenade and rocket attacks) killed at least 178 people and injured at least 500.

#### Suicide bombings

[edit]

Main article: List of suicide bombings in Iraq since 2003

Since August 2003, suicide car bombs were increasingly used as weapons by Sunni militants, primarily al-Qaeda extremists. The car bombs, known in the military as vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices (VBIEDs), emerged as one of the militants' most effective weapons, directed not only against civilian targets but also against Iraqi police stations and recruiting centers.

These vehicle IEDs were often driven by the extremists from foreign Muslim countries with a history of militancy, such as Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Egypt, and Pakistan.[46] Multiple suicide bombings had roughly the same target distribution as single blasts: about three-quarters of single and multiple blasts were sent against Iraqi targets.[47]

### Death squads

[edit]

Death squad-style killings in Iraq took place in a variety of ways. Kidnapping, followed by often extreme torture (such as drilling holes in people's feet with drills[48]) and execution-style killings, sometimes public (in some cases, beheadings), emerged as another tactic. In some cases, tapes of the execution were distributed for propaganda purposes. The bodies were usually dumped on a roadside or in other places, several at a time. There were also several relatively large-scale massacres, like the Hay al Jihad massacre in which some 40 Sunnis were killed in a response to the car bombing which killed a dozen Shi'a.

The death squads were often disgruntled Shi'a, including members of the security forces, who killed Sunnis in revenge attacks they blamed the insurgency against the Shi'a-dominated government.[49]

Allegations of the existence of the death squads, made up of Shiites, and their role in executions of Sunnis, began to be promulgated when Bayan Jabr took over the Interior Ministry, although there was no exact proof. On top of that the Badr Brigade, a military wing of the pro-Iranian Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, was accused of being behind the killings.[50]

Iraq Body Count project data shows that 33% of civilian deaths during the Iraq War resulted from execution after abduction or capture. These were overwhelmingly carried out by unknown actors including insurgents, sectarian militias and criminals. Such killings occurred much more frequently during the 2006–07 period of sectarian violence.[51]

### Attacks on places of worship

[edit]

On 22 February 2006, a highly provocative explosion took place at the al-Askari Mosque in the Iraqi city of Samarra, one of the holiest sites in Shi'a Islam, believed to have been caused by a bomb planted by al-Qaeda in Iraq. With the explicit strategic goal of triggering a "sectarian war", Al-Zarqawi hoped that through such a sectarian conflict he could rally Iraq's Sunnis behind a common cause against the Shiite-dominated government in Baghdad and the U.S. occupation.[52]

Although no injuries occurred in the blast, the mosque was severely damaged and the bombing resulted in violence over the following days. Over 100 dead bodies with bullet holes were found the next day, and at least 165 people are thought to have been killed. In the aftermath of this attack the U.S. military calculated that the average homicide rate in Baghdad tripled from 11 to 33 deaths per day.[37]

Dozens of Iraqi mosques were afterwards attacked or taken over by the sectarian forces. For example, a Sunni mosque was burnt in the southern Iraqi town of Haswa on 25 March 2007, in revenge for the destruction of a Shi'a mosque in the town the previous day.[53] In several cases, Christian churches were also attacked by the extremists. Later, another al-Askari bombing took place in June 2007.

Iraq's Christian minority also became a target by Al Qaeda Sunnis because of conflicting theological ideas.[54][55]

### Sectarian desertions

[edit]

Some Iraqi service members deserted the military or the police and others refused to serve in hostile areas.[56] For example, some members of one sect refused to serve in neighborhoods dominated by other sects.[56] The ethnic Kurdish soldiers from northern Iraq, who were mostly Sunnis but not Arabs, were also reported to be deserting the army to avoid the civil strife in Baghdad.[57]

The deserting soldiers left behind weapons, uniforms and warehouses full of heavy weaponry. Before the fall of Mosul, the ISF was losing 300 soldiers a day to desertions and deaths.[58]

## Timeline

[edit]

Main articles: 2006 in Iraq, 2007 in Iraq, and 2008 in Iraq

For more information on events in a specific year, see the associated timeline page.

Civilian deaths attributable to insurgent or military action in Iraq, and also to increased criminal violence. For the period between January 2006 and February 2008 as rendered by the Congressional Research Service for the Department of Defense. Many of these types of civilian deaths were not reported, and this image only reports from 2006 on. Other methods of estimating civilian deaths come up with much higher numbers. See also: Casualties of the conflict in Iraq since 2003.

## Growth in refugee flight

[edit]

Main article: Refugees of Iraq

* By 2008, the UNHCR raised the estimate of refugees to a total of about 4.7 million, with 2 million displaced internally and 2.7 million displaced externally.[34] In April 2006 the Ministry of Displacement and Migration estimated that "nearly 70,000 displaced Iraqis, especially from the capital, are living in deteriorating conditions," due to ongoing sectarian violence.[59] Roughly 40% of Iraq's middle class is believed to have fled, the U.N. said. Most were fleeing systematic persecution and had no desire to return.[60] Refugees were mired in poverty as they were generally barred from working in their host countries.[61][62] A 25 May 2007 article noted that in the past seven months only 69 people from Iraq had been granted refugee status in the United States.[63]

## Iraqi Civil War from the theories of civil warfare

[edit]

Each theory summarizes and illuminates a certain set of causes that triggered the sectarian civil war in Iraq since 2006.

* Weak State

Iraq was already a weak state before the invasion in 2003, with multiple economic sanctions that affected the capacity of the Iraqi state. The Hussein regime lacked legitimacy as the people did not perceive it as a legitimate ruler at the time of the U.S. invasion. The key factor evidencing the lack of Iraqi state capacity is the inability to provide security for its inhabitants.[64]

* Failed state

The failure of the state was a morisco[clarification needed] to trigger the civil war, after the invasion by the US government lawlessness was present which triggered a security vacuum.[65] The sectarian security dilemma was triggered by the security vacuum of the collapse of the state and the subsequent period of violence after the al-Askari mosque bombing.[64]

* Poor Leaders

Economic and political problems undermined the Iraqi state, stemming from previous wars in which Iraq was involved. The sectarian basis of Hussein's regime delimited the conflict that was taking place between Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds, which meant that poor leadership had incurred in triggering the civil war.[66][64]

* Economy

The economy is a key factor in understanding the development of the sectarian conflict that occurred. The Sunnis, compared to other ethnic groups, had more purchasing power due to higher job preferences and wages during Hussein's rule. With the U.S. invasion and the fall of Hussein, thousands of Sunnis were left without jobs, leading them to join the insurgency. Control of oil was also a factor, thanks to non-existent legislation on the dispersal of oil revenues.[67][64]

## Use of "civil war" label

[edit]

The use of the term "civil war" has been controversial, with a number of commentators preferring the term "civil conflict". A weak state, defined as lacking legitimacy, capacity and effective and functional institutions, is the main permissive cause of civil war.[64]

A poll of over 5,000 Iraqi nationals found that 27% of polled Iraqi residents agreed that Iraq was in a civil war, while 61% thought Iraq was not.[68] Two similar polls of Americans conducted in 2006 found that between 65% and 85% believed Iraq was in a civil war.[69][70]

In the United States, the term has been politicized. Deputy leader of the United States Senate, Dick Durbin, referred to "this civil war in Iraq"[71] in a criticism of the President's Address to the Nation by George W. Bush's on 10 January 2007.[72]

Edward Wong on 26 November 2006 paraphrased a report from a group of American professors at Stanford University that the insurgency in Iraq amounted to the classic definition of a civil war.[73]

An unclassified summary of the 90-page January 2007 National Intelligence Estimate, titled Prospects for Iraq's Stability: A Challenging Road Ahead, states the following regarding the use of the term "civil war":

The Intelligence Community judges that the term "civil war" does not adequately capture the complexity of the conflict in Iraq, which includes extensive Shi'a-on-Shi'a violence, al-Qa'ida and Sunni insurgent attacks on Coalition forces, and widespread criminally motivated violence. Nonetheless, the term "civil war" accurately describes key elements of the Iraqi conflict, including the hardening of ethno-sectarian identities, a sea change in the character of the violence, ethno-sectarian mobilization, and population displacements.[74]

Retired United States Army General Barry McCaffrey issued a report on 26 March 2007, after a trip and analysis of the situation in Iraq. The report labeled the situation a "low-grade civil war".[75] In page 3 of the report, he writes that:

> Iraq is ripped by a low-grade civil war which has worsened to catastrophic levels with as many as 3000 citizens murdered per month. The population is in despair. Life in many of the urban areas is now desperate. A handful of foreign fighter (500+)—and a couple thousand Al Qaeda operatives incite open factional struggle through suicide bombings which target Shia holy places and innocent civilians. ... The police force is feared as a Shia militia in uniform which is responsible for thousands of extra-judicial killings.

## See also

[edit]

* Iraq portal
* Asia portal

* Iraq conflict (2003–present)
* Casualties of the conflict in Iraq since 2003
* Shi'a–Sunni relations
* Iraqi insurgency
* Refugees of Iraq

Events:

* 2 March 2004 Iraq Ashura bombings
* 23 November 2006 Sadr City bombings
* 22 January 2007 Baghdad bombings
* 3 February 2007 Baghdad market bombing
* Hay al Jihad massacre

General:

* Ethnic cleansing
* Ethnic conflict
* Sectarianism
* Religion in Iraq
* Religious war

Films

* Iraq in Fragments, documentary (2006)

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "U.K. Finishes Withdrawal of Its Last Combat Troops in Iraq". Bloomberg. 26 May 2009.
2. ^ "Iraq Government Vows to Disband Sunnis". The Huffington Post. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
3. ^ Anthony H. Cordesman (2011), "Iraq: Patterns of Violence, Casualty Trends and Emerging Security Threats" Archived 12 October 2017 at the Wayback Machine, p. 33.
4. ^ a b Kingsbury, Alex (17 November 2014). "Why the 2007 surge in Iraq actually failed". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
5. ^ * International Crisis Group: "Iraq's Civil War, the Sadrists and the Surge" Archived 13 February 2008 at the Wayback Machine. Released on 7 February 2008.
* The Costs of Containing Iran Archived 14 February 2008 at the Wayback Machine. Nasr, Vali and Takeyh, Ray (Jan/Feb 2008).

> to preserve the territorial integrity of Iraq and prevent the civil war there from engulfing the Middle East.

* International Crisis Group: "Iraq after the Surge I: The New Sunni Landscape" Archived 14 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine. Released on 30 April 2008.
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14. ^ "June deadliest month for U.S. troops in 2 years". USA Today. Archived from the original on 15 January 2012. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
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## Bibliography

[edit]

* Iraq Study Group, The Iraq Study Group Report: The Way Forward – A New Approach (2006)
* Nir Rosen, In the Belly of the Green Bird: The Triumph of the Martyrs in Iraq (2006)

## External links

[edit]

* Refugees Report "The Iraqi Displacement Crisis" Refugees International, March 2008.
* United States Dept. of Homeland Security Fact Sheet on admitting Iraqi refugees to the United States March 2008.
* Sami Ramadani interview "Iraq is not a civil war" International Socialism, Spring 2007.
* Taheri, Amir. "There is no Civil War in Iraq, Gulf News, 6 December 2006.
* Phillips, David L., "Federalism can prevent Iraq civil war", 20 July 2005.
* Hider, James, "Weekend of slaughter propels Iraq towards all-out civil war", The Times, 18 July 2005.
* Ramadani, Sami, "Occupation and Civil War", The Guardian, 8 July 2005.
* Phelps, Timothy M., "Experts: Iraq Verges on Civil War". Newsday, 12 May 2005.
* Strobel, Warren P., and Jonathan S. Landay, "CIA Officers Warn of Iraq Civil War, Contradicting Bush's Optimism", Knight-Ridder, 22 January 2004.
* "US exit may lead to Iraqi civil war", Sydney Morning Herald, 19 November 2003.
* Dunnigan, James, "The Coming Iraqi Civil War", 4 April 2003

* v
* t
* e

Iraq War (2003–2011)

Beginning of the Iraqi conflict

Prelude

| Background|

| Pre-1990|

* 17 July Revolution
* Iranian Revolution
* 1979 Ba'ath Party Purge
* Iran–Iraq War
* British / U.S. support for Iraq
* Chemical attacks against Iran
* Anfal campaign
* Iran–Contra affair

|

1990–2003|

* Gulf War
* Invasion of Kuwait
* Nayirah testimony
* Sanctions against Iraq
* No-fly zones
* 1991 uprisings
* UNSCOM
* Arms-to-Iraq affair
* Oil-for-Food Programme
* Investigations
* September 11 attacks
* Aftermath
* War on terror
* 2001 anthrax attacks
* U.S. War in Afghanistan
* Invasion

Rationale|

* WMD claims
* Yellowcake uranium
* Aluminum tubes
* Biological weapons
* Chemical weapons
* "Curveball"
* Mobile weapon labs
* Saddam–al-Qaeda conspiracy theory
* Anthrax claims
* Prague
* Ricin claims
* Oil as a possible rationale

Issues|

* American imperialism
* Bush Doctrine
* Wolfowitz Doctrine
* Colin Powell's UN presentation
* Disarmament crisis
* UNMOVIC
* Failed peace initiatives
* Iraq resolution / UK parliament's support for invasion
* Iraqi–Kurdish conflict
* Legality
* Legitimacy of the invasion
* Media coverage
* Military analyst program
* Rapid response operation
* Saddam's alleged shredder
* Preemptive war
* Saddam Hussein and human rights

Dossiers
and memos|

* Habbush letter
* Downing Street memo
* September Dossier
* Vilnius letter
* Letter of the eight
* Bush–Blair 2003 memo
* February Dossier
* Bush–Aznar memo

Overview

| Key events|

* Invasion (2003)
* Occupation (2003–2011)
* Insurgency
* 2003–06 period
* Anbar campaign
* Fallujah
* Capture of Saddam Hussein
* Interrogation
* Trial
* Execution / Reactions
* 2006 al-Askari mosque bombing
* Civil war (2006–08)
* 2007 U.S. troop surge
* timeline
* U.S. withdrawal
* Status of forces agreement

|

Invasion
(2003)|

* Timeline
* Preparations for invasion
* Multi-National Force
* Battle of Nasiriyah
* Fall of Baghdad
* Battle of Debecka Pass
* Firdos Square statue
* Mission Accomplished speech
* US public opinion

Occupation
(2003–2011)|

* Occupation of Ramadi
* De-Ba'athification
* 100 Orders
* CPA Order 2
* CPA Order 17
* U.S. military bases
* Blackwater
* Reconstruction
* Development Fund
* Economic reform
* UNAMI
* Al Qa'qaa high explosives
* U.S. kill or capture strategy

| Replacement
governments|

* Coalition Provisional Authority
* Iraqi Governing Council
* Interim Government
* 2005 parliamentary elections
* Transitional Government
* Constitution
* Ratification

|

Participants

| Countries|

* Australia
* Ba'athist Iraq
* Denmark
* Georgia
* Iran
* Italy
* Japan
* Poland
* South Korea
* Thailand
* Ukraine
* United Kingdom
* United States

|

Insurgent
groups|

| Sunni
groups|

* Islamic Army in Iraq
* 1920 Revolution Brigades
* Jaish al-Rashideen
* Islamic Front for the Iraqi Resistance
* Hamas of Iraq
* Jeish Muhammad
* Mujahideen Shura Council
* Islamic State of Iraq
* Al-Qaeda in Iraq
* Jaish al-Ta'ifa al-Mansurah
* Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad
* Jamaat Ansar al-Sunna
* Ansar al-Islam in Kurdistan
* Black Banner Organization
* Wakefulness and Holy War
* Abu Theeb's group
* Abu Bakr Al-Salafi Army
* Mujahideen Army

|

Shia
groups|

* Mahdi Army
* Abu Deraa's militia
* Badr Organization
* Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq
* Sheibani Network
* Soldiers of Heaven
* Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq
* Promised Day Brigade
* Kata'ib Hezbollah

Ba'ath
loyalists|

* Fedayeen Saddam
* Al-Awda
* Popular Army
* Al-Abud Network
* Army of the Men of the Naqshbandi Order
* Supreme Command for Jihad and Liberation

Battles and operations

| Operations|

| 2003|

* Ancient Babylon
* Bayonet Lightning
* Bulldog Mammoth
* Catalyst
* Desert Scorpion
* Desert Thrust
* Falconer
* Iron Hammer
* Iron Justice
* Ivy Blizzard
* Northern Delay
* Airborne Dragon
* Panther Squeeze
* Peninsula Strike
* Planet X
* Capture of Saddam Hussein (Red Dawn)
* Telic

|

2004|

* Baton Rouge
* Bulldog Mammoth
* Iron Saber
* New Dawn (Al Fajr)
* Phantom Fury
* Phantom Linebacker
* Plymouth Rock
* Vigilant Resolve
* Warrior's Rage

2005|

* Able Rising Force
* Able Warrior
* Badlands
* Cyclone
* Dagger
* Iron Hammer
* Matador
* New Market
* Spear (Romhe)
* Squeeze Play
* Steel Curtain

2006|

* Al Majid
* Gaugamela
* Guardian Tiger
* Iron Triangle
* River Falcon
* Scorpion
* Sinbad
* Swarmer
* Together Forward

2007|

* Alljah
* Arbead II
* Ardennes
* Black Eagle
* Commando Eagle
* Forsythe Park
* Imposing Law
* Leyte Gulf
* Marne Avalanche
* Marne Torch
* Mawtini
* Phantom Strike
* Phantom Thunder
* Polar Tempest
* Purple Haze
* Saber Guardian
* Sledgehammer
* Stampede 3
* Tiger Hammer
* Valiant Guardian (Harris Ba'sil)

2008|

* Defeat Al Qaeda in the North
* Augurs of Prosperity
* Phantom Phoenix

2009–2011|

* New Dawn

Battles|

| 2003|

| Invasion|

* Umm Qasr
* Al Faw
* Basra I
* Nasiriyah
* Karbala I
* Haditha Dam
* Najaf I
* Samawah I
* Karbala II
* Al Kut
* Hillah
* Karbala Gap
* Debecka Pass
* Baghdad I

|

* Majar al-Kabir
* Ramadan Offensive

2004|

* Spring fighting
* Karbala City Hall
* Fallujah I
* Siege of Sadr City
* Ramadi I
* Good Friday ambush
* Baghdad International Airport
* Husaybah
* Danny Boy
* Najaf II
* CIMIC House
* Samarra
* Fallujah II
* Mosul

2005|

* Lake Tharthar
* Abu Ghraib
* Al-Qa'im
* Hit convoy
* Haditha
* Tal Afar

2006|

* Baghdad II
* Ramadi II
* Diwaniya
* Al Rumaythah
* Amarah
* Turki

2007|

* Haifa Street
* Karbala provincial HQ
* Najaf III
* Shurta Nasir
* Basra II
* Baqubah
* Route Bismarck
* Donkey Island
* Karbala III

2008|

* Spring fighting
* Iraqi Day of Ashura
* Nineveh
* Basra III
* Al-Qaeda offensive

2009–2011|

* Palm Grove (2010)

Related events|

* Turkish incursions into northern Iraq
* 2007
* 2008
* Abu Kamal raid

War crimes

| Occupation forces|

| Killings and
massacres|

* During the 2003 invasion
* U.S. killings of journalists
* Fallujah killings
* Killing of Nadhem Abdullah (2003)
* Murder of Muhamad Husain Kadir
* Mukaradeeb wedding party massacre (2004)
* Haifa Street helicopter incident (2005)
* Tal Afar shootings (2005)
* Basra prison incident (2005)
* Haditha massacre (2005)
* Mahmudiyah rape and killings (2006)
* Ishaqi massacre (2006)
* Baghdad detainee killings (2006)
* Hamdania incident (2006)
* Iraqi bodyguard killing (2006)
* Iron Triangle Murders (2006)
* Baghdad airstrike (2007)
* Nisour Square massacre (2007)
* Iraq War Logs (2010)

|

Chemical
weapons|

* Use of white phosphorus by the United States (2004–05)

Torture
and abuse|

* Abu Ghraib prison (2003–06)
* Camp Bucca (2003–09)
* Camp Nama (2003–04)
* Balad Air Base (2003–2011)
* Death of Nagem Hatab (2003)
* Killing of Baha Mousa (2003)
* Death of Abed Hamed Mowhoush (2003)
* Killing of Manadel al-Jamadi (2003)
* Death of Fashad Mohamed (2004)

§ Other killings
and bombings|

| 2003|

* Jordanian embassy
* Canal Hotel
* Imam Ali mosque bombing
* Baghdad October 2003

|

2004|

* Erbil 2004
* Ashura massacre
* Basra 2004
* Mosul 2004
* 2004 church bombings
* Baghdad bombings
* 14 September
* 30 September
* Karbala and Najaf bombings
* Baqubah 2004
* Kufa mosque bombing

2005|

* Al Hillah 2005
* Erbil 2005
* Musayyib bombing
* Baghdad bombings
* August
* September
* Balad 2005
* Khanaqin bombings

2006|

* Karbala and Ramadi
* Al-Askari mosque 2006
* Buratha mosque bombing
* Sadr City bombings
* July
* November
* Hayy Al-Jihad massacre

2007|

* Mustansiriya University
* Baghdad bombings
* 22 January
* 3 February
* 12 February
* 18 February
* 29 March
* 18 April
* 26 July
* 1 August
* Al Hillah 2007
* Tal Afar 2007
* Iraqi Parliament
* 2007 Karbala mosque bombings
* Massacres of Yazidis
* April massacre
* Qahtaniyah bombings
* Makhmour
* Abu Sayda
* Al-Askari mosque 2007
* Al-Khilani mosque bombing
* Amirli bombing
* Kirkuk 2007
* Al Amarah bombings

2008|

* Bagdad bombings
* February
* March
* June
* Balad 2008
* Karbala 2008
* Al-Karmah
* Dujail bombing
* Balad Ruz bombing
* Attacks on Christians in Mosul

2009|

* Bagdad bombings
* March
* 6 April
* June
* August
* October
* December
* Baghdad–Miqdadiyah
* Taza bombing
* Kirkuk 2009
* Tal Afar 2009

2010|

* Nationwide attacks
* 10 May
* 25 August
* Bagdad bombings
* January
* February
* April
* August
* September
* November
* Baqubah 2010
* Baghdad church massacre

2011|

* Nationwide attacks
* January
* August
* Bagdad bombings
* January
* August
* October
* Arba'een bombings
* Tikrit assault
* Al Hillah 2011
* Samarra bombing
* Al Diwaniyah bombing
* Taji bombings
* Karbala 2011
* Basra 2011

Other war crimes|

* Raid on Camp Ashraf (2011)
* Archaeological looting
* Chlorine bombings
* Torture by the Wolf Brigade (2004–2011)

Prosecution|

* United States and the International Criminal Court
* Hague Invasion Act
* Prosecution for the 2003 invasion
* Abtan v. Blackwater
* Hamdan v. Rumsfeld
* Saleh v. Bush
* Taguba Report

§ All attacks listed in this group were either committed by insurgents, or have unknown perpetrators

Impact

| General|

* Casualties
* Iraq Body Count
* Iraq Family Health Survey
* Lancet surveys
* ORB survey
* Damage to Baghdad
* Al-Aimmah Bridge disaster
* Human rights
* Humanitarian crisis
* 2007 cholera outbreak
* Financial cost
* Refugees
* Iraqi Christians
* Mandaeans
* Violence against Iraqi academics

|

Political
controversies|

* Post-invasion WMD conjecture
* Iraq scandal in Finland
* Dixie Chicks comments
* Plame affair
* Hood event
* Death of David Kelly
* Hutton Inquiry
* Kidnapping of Angelo dela Cruz
* 2004 document leak
* Al Jazeera bombing memo
* Scott Thomas Beauchamp controversy
* MoveOn.org ad controversy
* Six Days in Fallujah
* Role of Canada
* War resisters

| Investigations|

* Senate Report on WMD Intelligence
* Duelfer Report
* Chilcot Inquiry

|

Reactions|

| Pre-war|

* Pre-war international reactions
* Khuy Voyne!
* Saddam Hussein interview

|

* Views on the invasion
* U.S. public opinion
* Opposition
* Criticism
* United Nations
* Oprah's Anti-war series
* Iraqi map pendant
* Winter Soldier: Iraq & Afghanistan
* Photo Op
* A Responsible Plan to End the War in Iraq
* Bush shoeing incident

Protests|

* Halloween 2002
* February 15, 2003
* March 20, 2003
* Bring Them Home Now Tour
* January 20, 2005
* September 24, 2005
* January 27, 2007
* March 17, 2007
* 2007 Port of Tacoma
* September 15, 2007
* March 19, 2008

Aftermath in Iraq|

* The rise of ISIL
* Insurgency (2011–13)
* War in Iraq (2013–17)
* War against ISIL (2014–present)
* U.S.-led intervention in Iraq (2014–2021)
* Insurgency (2017–present)

Miscellaneous

| Terminology|

* Axis of evil
* Outposts of tyranny
* "Baghdad Bob"
* "Chemical Ali"
* Coalition of the willing
* Dead checking
* Embedded journalism
* Freedom fries
* Friedman Unit
* "Mother of All Bombs"
* "Mrs. Anthrax"
* Old Europe and New Europe
* Regime change
* Shock and awe
* "Sixteen Words"
* "Smoking gun / mushroom cloud"
* Star Spangled Ice Cream
* Strategic reset
* "There are unknown unknowns"
* Triangle of Death
* "Yo, Blair"

| Critical|

* Global arrogance
* Inverted totalitarianism
* "The wrong war, at the wrong place, at the wrong time"

|

Memorials|

* Afghan–Iraqi Freedom Memorial (Salem, Oregon)
* Al-Shaheed Monument
* Iraq and Afghanistan Memorial (London)
* Northwood Gratitude and Honor Memorial
* Old North Memorial Garden
* Saving Iraqi Culture

Lists|

* Assassinations
* Aviation shootdowns and accidents
* Bombings
* Coalition military operations
* Documentaries
* Iraqi security forces fatality reports
* Most-wanted Iraqi playing cards
* Private contractor deaths

Timeline|

* 2003
* 2004
* 2005
* 2006
* 2007
* 2008
* 2009
* 2010
* 2011

Related

* Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty
* Chelsea Manning
* CIA black sites
* Efforts to impeach George W. Bush
* "Enhanced interrogation techniques"
* Torture in the United States
* Extraordinary rendition
* Green Zone
* Guantanamo Bay detention camp
* Gulf of Tonkin incident
* Resolution
* Military–industrial complex
* Neoconservatism
* Patriot Act
* Petrodollar warfare theory
* Post-9/11
* Special Relationship
* The Iraq War: A Historiography of Wikipedia Changelogs
* Unilateralism
* Unitary executive theory
* U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East
* WikiLeaks
* Ba'ath Party archives

Outline / Category / Wikinews / Multimedia

* v
* t
* e

Armed groups in the Iraqi conflict

Iraqi government|

* Iraqi Armed Forces
* Iraqi Army
* Iraqi Air Force
* Iraqi Navy
* Iraqi security forces
* Iraqi Police
* Iraqi Police Service
* National Police
* Supporting Forces
* Facilities Protection Service

Ba'athists|

* Army of the Men of the Naqshbandi Order
* Fedayeen Saddam
* General Military Council for Iraqi Revolutionaries
* Al-Awda
* General Command of the Armed Forces, Resistance and Liberation in Iraq
* Popular Army
* New Return
* Patriotic Front
* Political Media Organ of the Ba'ath Party
* Popular Resistance for the Liberation of Iraq
* Al-Abud Network
* Free Iraqi Army

Militias and others|

| Shia Islamic militias|

* Popular Mobilization Forces
* Mahdi Army
* Abu Deraa's Mahdi Army faction
* Badr Organization
* Sheibani Network
* Soldiers of Heaven
* Free Iraqi Forces
* Special Groups (Iraq)
* Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq
* Promised Day Brigade
* Kata'ib Hezbollah
* Saraya Ansar al-Aqeeda
* Kata'ib al-Imam Ali
* Kata'ib Jund al-Imam
* Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba
* Saraya al-Jihad
* Abu al-Fadl al-Abbas Forces
* Harakat Ansar Allah al-Awfiya
* Quwwat Sahl Ninawa
* Mukhtar Army
* Hezbollah
* Liwa Abu al-Fadhal al-Abbas
* Jaysh al-Mu'ammal
* Liwa Ali al-Akbar
* Islamic Resistance in Iraq
* Kata'ib Sayyid al-Shuhada

|

Sunni Islamic militias|

* Tribal Mobilization
* Awakening groups
* 1920 Revolution Brigades
* Jaish al-Rashideen
* Islamic Army in Iraq
* Islamic Front for the Iraqi Resistance
* Hamas of Iraq
* Harakat Ahrar al-Iraq

Kurdish militias|

* Peshmerga
* Kurdistan Workers' Party
* Kurdistan Freedom Hawks
* Asayîşa Êzîdxanê

Turkmen militias|

* Iraqi Turkmen Front
* 16Brigade
* 52nd Brigade
* 92nd Brigade
* Brigade of Imam Hussein
* Sayyid al-Shuhada
* Bashir Regiment

Assyrian/Syriac militias|

| Nineveh Plains|

* Nineveh Plain Protection Units
* Nineveh Plain Forces
* Qaraqosh Protection Committee
* Dwekh Nawsha

|

* Syriac Military Council
* Kataib Rouh Allah Issa Ibn Miriam
* Babylon Brigade

Yazidi militias|

* Asayîşa Êzîdxanê
* Êzîdxan Protection Force
* Sinjar Alliance

* Sinjar Resistance Units
* Êzîdxan Women's Units

Insurgents|

| Nationalist Salafis|

* Mujahideen Army
* Mujahideen Battalions of the Salafi Group of Iraq
* Islamic Salafist Boy Scout Battalions
* Mohammad's Army

|

Salafi Jihadists|

* Al-Mustafa Army in Iraq
* Ansar al-Islam in Kurdistan
* Black Banner Organization
* Abu Theeb's group
* Abu Bakr Al-Salafi Army
* Hassan Al-Basri Brigades
* Jamaat Ansar al-Sunna
* Jamaat Jaysh Ahl al-Sunnah wa-l-Jamaah
* Islamic State
* Mujahideen Shura Council
* Jaish al-Ta'ifa al-Mansurah
* Al-Qaeda in Iraq
* Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad
* Shield of Islam Brigade
* Wakefulness and Holy War
* White Flags

*[POW]: Prisoner of war
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template