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chemical Ali
Coalition officials announce Iraq's Gen. Ali Hassan al- Majid, "Chemical Ali," had been
captured. -
why did it start
U.S. President George W. Bush argued that the vulnerability of the United States following the September 11 attacks of 2001, combined with Iraq’s alleged continued possession and manufacture of weapons of mass destruction and its support for terrorist groups, including al-Qaeda, justified the U.S.'s war with Iraq. -
prisoner of war
Prisoner of war Army Pfc. Jessica Lynch rescued from Iraqi hospital near Kshatriya. -
coalition forces
Coalition forces announce capture of Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister and sometime spokesman Tariq Aziz. -
mission accomplished
On an aircraft carrier under a "Mission Accomplished" banner, Bush declares "major combat operations in Iraq have ended -
dead list month
Deadliest month to date for U.S. forces: 137 deaths. -
first major urban battles
Four private security employees ambushed and killed in Fallujah, and their bodies
hung on a bridge. U.S. forces later attack the city in some of the first major urban battles against
Sunni insurgents. -
suicide bomber
At least 1,000 Shiite pilgrims killed in a bridge stampede caused by rumors of a suicide
bomber in Baghdad. -
no evidence found
Top U.S. arms inspector in Iraq finds no evidence that Saddam's regime produced
weapons of mass destruction after 1991, discounting a main justification of the war. -
National Assembly
Iraqis elect 275-seat National Assembly in the country's first national elections since
Saddam's fall. Shiite Muslim-dominated coalition wins 48 percent, Kurdish alliance 26 percent.
Most Sunni Arabs boycott voting. -
referendum
Iraqi voters approve constitution in referendum, with strong Shiite and Kurdish support.
Sunni Arabs largely opposed and win a promise that the next parliament will consider
amendments. -
bombs inside the revered Shiite
In Samarra, suspected Sunni insurgents detonate two bombs inside the revered Shiite
Askariya shrine, blowing the top off its landmark golden dome. The attack sharply escalates
sectarian bloodshed and increases fears of a civil war. -
significant victory
: American airstrike outside Baqouba kills al-Qaida-linked insurgent leader Abu Musab alZarqawi and his spiritual adviser, Sheik Abdul-Rahman. "A significant victory in the war on terror,"
says Bush. -
sent to Baghdad
Bush announces that more than 20,000 additional U.S. troops will be sent to Baghdad
and Anbar province in a mission dubbed "the surge." -
chemical ali hanged
Saddam's cousin, known as "Chemical Ali," and two other former regime officials are
sentenced to hang for atrocities against Kurds in the 1980s. -
4 bombers
Four suicide bombers hit a Kurdish Yazidi community in northwest Iraq, killing at least
520 people and wounding 350 others. -
the end
The U.S. military formally declared the end of the Iraq War in a ceremony in Baghdad on December 15, 2011, as U.S. troops prepared to withdraw from the country.