Key dates in Iraq since US invasion
2011-12-18 07:21
Baghdad - US troops left Iraq and crossed into neighbouring Kuwait on Sunday, completing their withdrawal from the country and ending an almost nine-year campaign.
Here are some key dates in the American presence in Iraq:
2003
March 20: US-led forces begin onslaught against Iraq, which they accuse of harbouring weapons of mass destruction.
April 9: US forces topple a large statue of Saddam Hussein in Baghdad.
May 1: US President George W Bush announces the end of major combat operations using a "Mission Accomplished" banner.
October 2: US admits no weapons of mass destruction found.
October 16: UN Resolution 1511 legitimises the US-led occupation.
December 13: Saddam captured.
2004
April-August: Clashes between coalition forces and militiamen of Shiite radical leader Moqtada al-Sadr.
April 28: Photographs emerge of US forces humiliating inmates at Abu Ghraib prison.
June 28: The US-led administration hands Iraqis power.
2005
January 30: Iraqis vote in the first multi-party poll in 50 years despite deadly attacks, a poll Sunni Arabs largely boycott.
April 6-7: Jalal Talabani becomes president, the first Kurd in the post. Ibrahim al-Jaafari, a Shi'ite, becomes prime minister.
December 15: The conservative Shi'ite United Iraqi Alliance wins most seats in parliamentary elections.
2006
February 22: Revered Shi'ite shrine in Samarra blown up; sectarian unrest kills 450 people.
May 20: New Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki formally presents cabinet to parliament for approval.
June 7: US air strike kills al-Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
July: The US hands over to Iraq's security control of 18 provinces.
December 30: Saddam hanged.
2007
January 10: Bush deploys 30 000 more troops in a so-called "surge" strategy.
2008
March 23: 4 000 US soldiers dead in Iraq since invasion.
November 27: Parliament ratifies a security agreement setting the framework for a US troop presence beyond the end of the year.
2009
January 1: The US transfers control of Baghdad's high-security Green Zone.
February 27: President Barack Obama sets August 31 2010 deadline for end to US combat operations, with a total retreat by end 2011.
June 30: US forces quit urban areas.
August 19, October 25, December 8: At least 386 are killed in attacks on government buildings in Iraq.
2010
January 1: US troops rename their force "United States Forces-Iraq," from "Multi-National Forces-Iraq," after all other countries pull soldiers out.
March 7: Inconclusive second parliamentary elections unleash political crisis.
August 31: End to US combat operations, with US troops now tasked with training Iraqi forces.
November 10: Iraq's political factions seal a power-sharing deal including all sides.
December 21: Parliament gives Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's government a vote of confidence.
2011
August 3: Iraq gives the green light to talks with Washington over a military training mission. Talks later break down.
August 15: At least 74 people are killed in nationwide attacks across 17 cities, claimed for the most part by al-Qaeda in Iraq.
October 21: Obama announces that US forces, numbering around 39,000, would be withdrawn by the end of the year, after a nearly nine-year campaign and 4 400 American fatalities.
November 9 - December 7: US forces hand Joint Base Balad, north of Baghdad, the Al-Assad air base in the western Anbar province, and the Victory Base Complex near Baghdad over to Iraqi control.
December 11: Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki travels to Washington, looking to open a new chapter with the United States after the protracted war left deep wounds.
December 15: US forces in Iraq hold a "casing of the colours" ceremony, marking a formal end to their mission in the country.
December 18: The last US troops cross into Kuwait from Iraq, completing the withdrawal. Just 157 soldiers, assigned with training Iraqi forces, remain at the US embassy, along with a small contingent of Marines responsible for the diplomatic mission's security.
