2015 in Iraq

← 2014 2013 2012 2015 in Iraq → 2016 2017 2018
Decades:	1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s
See also:	Other events of 2015 List of years in Iraq

The following lists events that happened in 2015 in Iraq .

Incumbents

• President: Fuad Masum
• Prime Minister: Haider al-Abadi
• Vice President: Nouri al-Maliki, Usama al-Nujayfi, Ayad Allawi

Events

January

• January 6 – Clashes with ISIL in Al Anbar Governorate kill twenty-three Iraqi Army soldiers and allied Sunni fighters. ^[1]
• January 8 – A suicide bomber targets a police checkpoint in the town of Youssifiyah, killing seven people. ^[2]
• January 25 – 21 Arab-Iraqi civilians were killed in the village of Kocho by Yazidi militias in retaliation for the Sinjar massacre. ^[3]

February

• February 7 – Bombings in Baghdad kill at least 37 people hours before the city's curfew was due to end. ISIL claims responsibility. ^[4]
• February 9 – Several attacks, including a suicide bombing, kill at least 22 in Baghdad, Iraq, in a predominantly Shiite part of the capital. ^[5]
• February 26 – ISIL posts a video showing the destruction of Mosul Museum, the second largest in Iraq and rich in artifacts from thousands of years of Iraqi history. ^[6]
• February 28 – A series of car bombs kill 19 people in Balad Ruz, east-central Iraq. ^[7]

March

• March 2 – A coalition of Iraqi Armed Forces and militia numbering around 30,000 launches an offensive against Islamic State positions in Tikrit. Troops seize control of the district of al-Tin and al-Abeid. ^[8]
• March 5 – Separate attacks in Baghdad kill at least eight people. ^[9]
• March 7 – ISIL destroys the ancient city of Hatra following the destruction of Nimrud. ^[10]

April

• April 8 – The Iraqi Ministry of Tourism reports that Bash Tapia Castle was destroyed by ISIL. ^[11]

July

• July 17 – A car bomb in Khan Bani Saad killed 130 people ^[12] injuring at least 130 more.
• July 31 – national protests

December

• 8 December – The Catholic University in Erbil is founded. ^[13]
• 16 December – The 26 members of a Qatari hunting party are kidnapped from the Samawa desert near Iraqi-Saudi borders. ^[14]

Scheduled

• The Iraqi Kurdistan presidential elections will take place. ^[15]

Deaths

Main article: Deaths in 2015

• 4 February – Ziad Al-Karbouly, Islamic state leader.(b.1970) ^[16]
• 12 March – Harith al-Dhari, Sunni cleric and tribe leader. (b.1941) ^[17]
• 7 April – Mohammad Bahr al-Uloom, politician.(b.1927) ^[18]
• 5 June – Tariq Aziz, politician.(b.1936) ^[19]
• 13 August – Watban Ibrahim, politician.(b.1952) ^[20]
• 26 September – Jamal al Barzinji, Iraqi-American businessman.(b.1939) ^[21]
• 3 November – Ahmed Chalabi, politician.(b.1945) ^[22]

Further information: Category:2015 deaths

References

1. "23 Iraq troops, Sunni fighters killed in clashes with Islamic State". The Hindu. 6 January 2015. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
2. "Suicide attack kills 7 in Iraq". The Australian. 8 January 2015. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
3. Isabel, Coles (February 10, 2015). "Iraqi Yazidis take revenge as Islamic State atrocities unearthed". Reuters.
4. "Bombings kill at least 40 in Baghdad on last day of nightly curfew". KSL. 7 February 2015.
5. "Suicide attack, bombing kill at least 22 in Iraq's capital". Associated Press. 9 February 2015.
6. "Video shows ISIS fighters roaming through Iraq museum with sledgehammers and power tools, destroying artifacts". National Post. 26 February 2015.
7. "Bombings kill 19 people in Iraq". News 24. 28 February 2015.
8. "Iraq 'seizes districts from IS' in Tikrit advance". BBC News. 2 March 2015. Retrieved 3 March 2015.
9. Salaheddin, Sinan (5 March 2015). "Insurgent attacks in Iraqi capital kill at least 16 people". Associated Press.
10. "Islamic State 'demolishes' ancient Hatra site in Iraq". BBC News. 7 March 2015.
11. "Боевики "Исламского государства" взорвали древний замок Баш Тапия в иракском Мосуле" (in Russian). Russian News Agency "TASS". 8 April 2015. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
12. Mustafa Salim and Loveday Morris (18 July 2015). "At least 130 dead in Iraq after massive bomb attack". The Washington Post . Retrieved 18 July 2015.
13. "Erbil's Catholic University to counter the Christian exodus from Mosul". AsiaNews . 9 December 2015. Retrieved 19 June 2017.
14. "Qatari hunting group 'kidnapped' by large convoy of unknown gunmen in Iraq". The Independent. 2015-12-16. Retrieved 2025-10-12.
15. "Iraq's Kurdish parliament extends leader's term". Associated Press. 30 June 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
16. Bacon, Jim Michaels, and John. "Jordan executes two in response to pilot's slaying". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2025-03-27.
17. "الشيخ حارث الضاري في ذمة الله". الجزيرة نت (in Arabic). Retrieved 2025-03-27.
18. الكويتية, جريدة الجريدة (2015-04-08). "رحيل العلّامة محمد بحر العلوم". جريدة الجريدة الكويتية (in Arabic). Retrieved 2025-03-27.
19. "وفاة طارق عزيز إثر تدهور صحته في السجن". الجزيرة نت (in Arabic). Retrieved 2025-03-27.
20. "العراق.. وفاة وطبان التكريتي الأخ غير الشقيق لصدام حسين بـ"مرض عضال"". CNN Arabic (in Arabic). 2015-08-13. Retrieved 2025-03-27.
21. "In Memoriam: Dr. Jamal Barzinji (1939-2015): The Muslim American Community Is Orphaned". WRMEA. 2015-10-30. Retrieved 2025-03-27.
22. "Veteran Iraqi politician Ahmed Chalabi dies at 71". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 2025-03-27.