Iraq War

This article is about the 2003–2011 war. For other uses, see Iraq War (disambiguation).

Iraq War
حرب العراق (Arabic)
Part of the Iraqi conflict and the war on terror
Clockwise from top left:
Iraqi National Guard troops, 2004; toppling of Saddam Hussein's statue in Baghdad, 2003; destroyed Iraqi Type 69 tank, 2003; U.S soldier during a leaflet drop from a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter, 2008; British armored vehicles on patrol in Basra, 2008; destroyed headquarters of the Ba'ath Party in Baghdad, 2003
Date20 March 2003 – 18 December 2011
(8 years, 8 months and 28 days)
Location
Iraq
Result see § Aftermath
Belligerents
Invasion (2003)
Coalition of the willing Kurdistan Region Kurdistan Region Iraqi National Congress

Invasion (2003)
Ba'athist Iraq Republic of Iraq

After Invasion (2003–11)
 Iraq
 United States
 United Kingdom
MNF–I (2003–09)
 Kurdistan Region
Awakening Council		 After Invasion (2003–11)
Al-Qaeda in Iraq
Ba'ath loyalists
Islamic Army in Iraq
Islamic State of Iraq
Hamas of Iraq
Jaysh al-Mujahideen
1920 Revolution Brigades
Jamaat Ansar al-Sunna
Sunni insurgents
Special Groups
Commanders and leaders
Strength

Coalition forces (2003)
309,000–584,799
 United States: 192,000–466,985 personnel[5][6]
 United Kingdom: 45,000
 Australia: 2,000
 Poland: 194
Kurdistan Region Peshmerga: 70,000 Coalition forces (2004–09)
176,000 at peak
United States Forces – Iraq (2010–11)
112,000 at activation
Security contractors 6,000–7,000 (estimate)[7]
Iraqi Security Forces
805,269


Awakening militias
≈103,000 (2008)[9]
Kurdistan Region Kurdistan Region
≈400,000 (Kurdish Border Guard: 30,000,[10] Peshmerga 75,000)

Iraqi Armed Forces: 375,000[a]
Special Iraqi Republican Guard: 12,000
Iraqi Republican Guard: 75,000
Fedayeen Saddam: 30,000

Sunni Insurgents
≈70,000 (2007)[11]
Mahdi Army
≈60,000 (2007)[12][13]

Islamic State of Iraq
≈1,000 (2008)
Army of the Men of the Naqshbandi Order
≈500–1,000 (2007)
Casualties and losses

Iraqi Security Forces (post-Saddam)
Killed: 17,690[b]
Wounded: 40,000+[19]
Coalition forces
Killed: 4,825 (4,507 US,[c] 179 UK,[24] 139 other)[25]
Missing/captured (US): 17 (9 died in captivity, 8 rescued)[26]
Wounded: 32,776+ (32,292 US,[27] 315 UK, 210+ other[d])[48][49][50][51]
Injured/diseases/other medical*: 51,139 (47,541 US,[52] 3,598 UK)[48][50][51]
Contractors
Killed: 3,650 [53][54][55]
Wounded & injured: 43,880[54][55]
Awakening Councils
Killed: 1,002+[e]
Wounded: 500+ (2007),[56] 828 (2008)[66]

Total dead: 27,163
Total wounded: 117,961

Iraqi combatant dead (invasion period): 7,600–45,000[67][68]
Insurgents (post-Saddam)
Killed: 26,544+ killed by Coalition and ISF forces (2003–11), excludes inter-insurgent fighting and noncombat losses[f]
(4,000 foreign fighters killed by Sep. 2006, all causes)[73]
Detainees:
60,000 (US and Iraqi-held, peak in 2007)[11]
12,000 (Iraqi-held, in 2010 only)[74]
119,752 insurgents arrested (2003–2007),[75] of this about 1/3 were imprisoned for longer than four years[11]


Total dead: 34,144+–71,544+
Total captured: 120,000+


Documented deaths from violence:
Iraq Body Count (2003 – 14 December 2011): 103,160–113,728 civilian deaths recorded[76] and 12,438 new deaths added from the Iraq War Logs[77]
Associated Press (March 2003 – April 2009): 110,600 Iraqi deaths in total[78]


Statistical estimates
Lancet survey** (March 2003 – July 2006): 654,965 (95% CI: 392,979–942,636)[79][80]
Iraq Family Health Survey*** (March 2003 – July 2006): 151,000 (95% CI: 104,000–223,000)[81]
Opinion Research Business**: (March 2003 – August 2007): 1,033,000 (95% CI: 946,258–1,120,000)[82]
PLOS Medicine Study**: (March 2003 – June 2011): 405,000 (60% violent) (95% CI: 48,000–751,000)[83]

For more information see Casualties of the Iraq War.
* "injured, diseased, or other medical": required medical air transport. UK number includes "aeromed evacuations".
** Total excess deaths include all additional deaths due to increased lawlessness, degraded infrastructure, poorer healthcare, etc.
*** Violent deaths only – does not include excess deaths due to increased lawlessness, poorer healthcare, etc.
**** Sukkariyeh, Syria was also affected (2008 Abu Kamal raid).
Part of a series on
Ba'athism
Flag of the Ba'ath Party
Organisations
Arab Ba'ath1940–1947
Arab Ba'ath Movement1940–1947
Ba'ath Party1947–1966
Baath Party (pro-Iraqi)1968–2003
Baath Party (pro-Syrian)1966–present
People
Literature
History
Regional organisations
Algeria
Bahrain
Egypt
Iraq
Jordan
Kuwait
Lebanon
Libya
Mauritania
Palestine
Sudan
Syria
Tunisia
Yemen
Splinter groups
Arab Socialist Revolutionary Ba'ath Party1960–1962/63
Socialist Lebanon1965–1970
Arab Revolutionary Workers Party1966–present
Democratic Socialist Arab Ba'ath Party1970–present
Sudanese Ba'ath Party2002–present
Related topics

The Iraq War (Arabic: حرب العراق, romanized: ḥarb al-ʿirāq), also referred to as the Second Gulf War,[84][85] was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with the invasion by a United States-led coalition, which resulted in the overthrow of the Ba'athist government of Saddam Hussein. The conflict persisted as an insurgency arose against coalition forces and the newly established Iraqi government. US forces were officially withdrawn in 2011. In 2014, the US became re-engaged in Iraq, leading a new coalition under Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve, as the conflict evolved into the ongoing insurgency.

The Iraq invasion was part of the Bush administration's broader war on terror, launched in response to the September 11 attacks. In October 2002, the US Congress passed a resolution granting Bush the authority to use military force against Iraq. The war began on March 20, 2003, when the US, joined by the UK, Australia, and Poland, initiated a "shock and awe" bombing campaign. Following the bombings, coalition forces launched a ground invasion, defeating Iraqi forces and toppling the Ba'athist regime. Saddam Hussein was captured in 2003 and executed in 2006.

The fall of Saddam's regime created a power vacuum, which, along with the Coalition Provisional Authority's mismanagement, fueled a sectarian civil war between Iraq's Shia majority and Sunni minority, and contributed to a lengthy insurgency. In response, the US deployed an additional 170,000 troops during the 2007 troop surge, which helped stabilize parts of the country. In 2008, President Bush agreed to withdraw all US combat troops, a process completed in 2011 under President Barack Obama.

The primary justifications for the invasion centered around claims Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) and that Saddam Hussein was supporting al-Qaeda. However, the 9/11 Commission concluded in 2004 that there was no credible evidence linking Saddam to al-Qaeda, and no WMD stockpiles were ever found in Iraq. These false claims faced widespread criticism, in the US and abroad. Kofi Annan, then Secretary-General of the United Nations, declared the invasion illegal under international law, as it violated the UN Charter. The 2016 Chilcot Report, a British inquiry, concluded the war was unnecessary, as peaceful alternatives had not been fully explored. In 2005, Iraq held multi-party elections, and Nouri al-Maliki became Prime Minister in 2006, a position he held until 2014. His government's policies alienated Iraq's Sunni minority, exacerbating sectarian tensions.

The war led to an estimated 150,000 to over a million deaths, including more than 100,000 civilians. Many deaths occurred during the insurgency and subsequent civil war. The conflict had lasting geopolitical effects, contributing to the emergence of the 2013–2017 War in Iraq, which caused over 155,000 deaths and displaced millions of Iraqis. The war severely damaged the US' international reputation, and Bush's popularity declined sharply. UK Prime Minister Tony Blair's support for the war diminished his standing, contributing to his resignation in 2007.

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