Qusay Saddam Hussein al-Nasiri al-Tikriti was an Iraqi politician, military leader, and the second son of Saddam Hussein. He was appointed as his father's heir apparent in 2000. He was also in charge of the Republican Guard, a branch of the Iraqi military. Qusay, his son Mustafa, and his brother Uday were killed in a 2003 U.S. raid in Mosul.
The Gulf War was an armed conflict between Iraq and a 42-country coalition led by the United States. The coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: Operation Desert Shield, which marked the military buildup from August 1990 to January 1991; and Operation Desert Storm, which began with the aerial bombing campaign against Iraq on 17 January 1991 and came to a close with the American-led liberation of Kuwait on 28 February 1991.
This is a timeline of the events surrounding the United States-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.
Basra Governorate, also called Basra Province, is a governorate in southern Iraq in the region of Arabian Peninsula, bordering Kuwait to the south and Iran to the east. The capital is the city of Basra, located in the Basrah district. Other districts of Basra include Al-Qurna, Al-Zubair, Al-Midaina, Shatt Al-Arab, Abu Al-Khaseeb and Al-Faw located on the Persian Gulf. It is the only governorate with a coastline.
Under the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party, Iraq's human rights record was considered one of the worst in the world. Secret police, state terrorism, torture, mass murder, genocide, ethnic cleansing, rape, deportations, extrajudicial killings, forced disappearances, assassinations, chemical warfare, and the destruction of the Mesopotamian marshes were some of the methods Saddam Hussein and the country's Ba'athist government used to maintain control. Saddam committed crimes of aggression during the Iran–Iraq War and the Gulf War, which violated the Charter of the United Nations. The total number of deaths and disappearances related to repression during this period is unknown, but is estimated to be at least 250,000 to 290,000 according to Human Rights Watch, with the great majority of those occurring as a result of the Anfal genocide in 1988 and the suppression of the uprisings in Iraq in 1991. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International issued regular reports of widespread imprisonment and torture.
The 1991 Iraqi uprisings were ethnic and religious uprisings against Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq that were led by Shia Arabs and Kurds. The uprisings lasted from March to April 1991 after a ceasefire following the end of the Gulf War. The mostly uncoordinated insurgency was fueled by the perception that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein had become vulnerable to regime change. This perception of weakness was largely the result of the outcome of the Iran–Iraq War and the Gulf War, both of which occurred within a single decade and devastated the population and economy of Iraq.
The Battle of Umm Qasr was the first military confrontation in the Iraq War. At the start of the war, one of the first objectives was the port of Umm Qasr. On 21 March 2003, as allied forces advanced across Southern Iraq, an amphibious landing force captured the new port area of Umm Qasr. The assault was spearheaded by Royal Marines of the British 3 Commando Brigade, augmented by U.S. Marines of the American 15th MEU and Polish JW GROM troops. Iraqi forces in the old town of Umm Qasr put up unexpectedly strong resistance, requiring several days' fighting before the area was cleared of defenders. The port was finally declared safe and reopened on 25 March 2003.
Operation Badr was an Iranian operation conducted during the Iran–Iraq War against the forces of Ba'athist Iraq. The Iranians launched their offensive on March 11 and succeeded in capturing a part of the Basra-Amarah-Baghdad highway. The following Iraqi counterattack, however, forced the Iranians out in a continual war of endless stalemate.
The Battle of Basra lasted from 21 March to 6 April 2003 and was one of the first battles of the 2003 invasion of Iraq. The British 7 Armoured Brigade fought their way into Iraq's second-largest city, Basra, on 6 April coming under constant attack by the Iraqi Army 51st Division and Fedayeen Saddam, while elements of the Parachute Regiment cleared the 'old quarter' of the city that was inaccessible to vehicles. Entering Basra had only been achieved after two weeks of conflict, which included the biggest tank battle of the war by British forces when the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards destroyed 14 abandoned Iraqi tanks on the 27 March.
The Battle of Karbala was fought during the 1991 uprisings in Iraq which followed the Gulf War. The battle started after demoralized troops throughout Iraq began to rebel against Saddam Hussein. From 5 to 19 March 1991, the city of Karbala became a chaotic battlefield as the result of bitter fighting between the insurgents and the Iraqi Republican Guard. After the failure of the uprising, citizens were killed in large numbers. Parts of the city were nearly leveled.
Salah Aboud Mahmoud was an Iraqi military officer, best known for his role in the battles of Khafji and 73 Easting, during the Gulf War.
Ba'athist Iraq, officially the Iraqi Republic (1968–1992) and later the Republic of Iraq (1992–2003), was a Ba'athist one party state between 1968 and 2003 under the rule of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party. This period began with high economic growth, but ended with the country facing severe levels of socio-political isolation and economic stagnation. By the late 1990s, the average annual income had decreased drastically due to a combination of external and internal factors. UNSC sanctions against Iraq, in particular, were widely criticized for negatively impacting the country's quality of life, prompting the establishment of the Oil-for-Food Programme. The Ba'athist period formally came to an end with the 2003 invasion of Iraq, and the Ba'ath Party has since been indefinitely banned across the country.
The Battle ofSulaymaniyah was one of the greatest battles fought during the 1991 uprisings in Iraq. Sulaymaniyah, a mostly Kurdish city with a population of over 100,000, was the first to be liberated by the rebels and the last to fall back to the Iraqi army. The city was then recaptured by Kurdish rebels, after the Peshmerga launched a new offensive on 20 July.
The Battle of Tuz Khormato was fought during the 1991 uprisings in Iraq between the Peshmerga and Iraqi forces. Tuz Khormatu, a predominantly Turkmen town, was one of the most southernly towns to fall under the control of the Peshmerga then retaken by Iraqi government forces.
The Battle of Kirkuk was one of the biggest battles of the 1991 uprisings in Iraq.
The 1999 Shia uprising in Iraq or Second Sadr Uprising was a short period of unrest in Iraq in early 1999 following the killing of Muhammad al-Sadr by the then Ba'athist government of Iraq. The protests and ensuing violence were strongest in the heavily Shia neighborhoods of Baghdad, as well as southern majority Shiite cities such as Karbala, Nasiriyah, Kufa, Najaf, and Basra.
The Battle of Zakho was fought during the 1991 uprisings in Iraq following the Gulf War. Zakho is a Kurdish city of over 50,000 inhabitants. People in the Zakho district of the Duhok Governorate attacked the military bases, stormed government buildings and took control of the town on 13 March. The town was recaptured by government forces on 1 April.
The 1991 Altun Kupri massacre occurred on 28 March 1991 in the Turkmen town of Altun Kupri, Kirkuk Governorate, Iraq. The massacre targeted Turkmens, in particular males, both children and adults alike, and was organized by security forces affiliated with Saddam Hussein's army. It came as a result of curbing the 1991 uprising in the dissident areas in the north and south of the country.
Amna Suraka is a museum in Sulaymaniyah, Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
Qarmat Ali, known locally as Al-Qarmah and historically as Nahr Adi, is an Iraqi town located in Al-Hartha District, Basra. The river that gives it its name runs through it, and it is the largest river in Basra. It is connected to the Marshes and flows into the Shatt al-Arab, and on it is a bridge connecting the north of Basra to its south, and another bridge connecting it to Al-Maqal. Some government institutions are located on its banks, including the University of Basra.
Iraqi army deserters
Saddam Hussein 