Special Reports/iraq

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The 2003 invasion of Iraq was the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion began on 20 March 2003 and lasted just over one month, including 26 days of major combat operations. The invasion was conducted by a United States-led coalition of mainly American, British, Australian, and Polish troops. According to U.S. president George W. Bush and UK prime minister Tony Blair, the coalition aimed to disarm Iraq of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs)—nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons—and "free the Iraqi people" by deposing president Saddam Hussein, in turn ending his "support for terrorism". Before the invasion, United Nations (UN) inspectors in Iraq had found no evidence of Iraqi WMDs; U.S. and British officials claimed they were still hidden, and posed an immediate threat to world peace. The invasion was strongly opposed by some long-standing U.S. allies, including Canada, France, Germany, and New Zealand. In 2004, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan called the invasion illegal under international law, as a breach of the UN Charter. On 15 February 2003, there were worldwide protests against the anticipated invasion of Iraq, including a rally of three million people in Rome which was the largest anti-war rally in history. The invasion began with an airstrike on the Presidential Palace in Baghdad on 20 March 2003. The following day, coalition forces launched an incursion into Basra Governorate from their massing point close to the Iraqi–Kuwaiti border. While special forces launched an amphibious assault from the Persian Gulf to secure Basra and the surrounding petroleum fields, the main invasion army occupied southern Iraq, engaging in the Battle of Nasiriyah on 23 March. Massive air strikes across the country and against Iraqi command and control threw the defending army into chaos and prevented an effective resistance. On 26 March, the 173rd Airborne Brigade was airdropped near the northern city of Kirkuk, where they joined forces with Kurdish rebels and fought several actions against the Iraqi Army, to secure the northern part of the country. The main body of coalition forces continued their drive into the heart of Iraq and were met with little resistance. Most of the Iraqi military was quickly defeated. On 9 April 2003, 22 days after the first day of the invasion, the capital city of Baghdad was captured by coalition forces after the six-day-long Battle of Baghdad. Other operations included the capture and occupation of Kirkuk on 10 April and the attack on and capture of Tikrit on 15 April. Saddam and the Iraqi central leadership went into hiding, as the coalition forces finished occupying the country. On 1 May, Bush declared the "end of major combat operations" in Iraq; this began the occupation phase of the Iraq War, in which coalition forces fought the Iraqi insurgency. Saddam was captured by U.S. forces on 13 December 2003.

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Article title : 2003 invasion of Iraq
"The 2003 invasion of Iraq was the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion began on 20 March 2003 and lasted just over one month, including 26 days of..."
Article title : Iraqi Counter Terrorism Service
"الارهاب) is an Iraqi security and intelligence agency tasked with counterterrorism. The Service’s operational arm is called the Iraqi Special Operations Forces..."
Article title : Joint Special Operations Command Task Force in the Iraq War
"The Joint Special Operations Command Task Force in the Iraq War was a joint U.S. and British special operations temporary grouping assembled from different..."
Article title : Report to Congress on the Situation in Iraq
"The Report to Congress on the Situation in Iraq (sometimes referred to as the Petraeus Report) was a two-part report released on September 10, 2007 by..."
Article title : Senate Report on Iraqi WMD Intelligence
"The Senate Report on Iraqi WMD Intelligence (formally, the Report of the Select Committee on Intelligence on the U.S. Intelligence Community's Prewar Intelligence..."
Article title : Special Groups (Iraq)
"Special Groups (SGs) is a designation given by the United States military to the cell-based Shi'a paramilitary organizations operating within Iraq. The..."
Article title : Iraq War
"The Iraq War (Arabic: حرب العراق, romanized: ḥarb al-ʿirāq), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a protracted armed conflict in Iraq from 2003..."
Article title : United Nations Special Commission
"Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM) was an inspection regime created by the United Nations to ensure Iraq's compliance with policies concerning Iraqi production..."
Article title : Iraqi Republican Guard
"The Iraqi Republican Guard (IRG; Arabic: حرس العراق الجمهوري, romanized: Ḥaras al-ʿIrāq al-Jamhūrīy) was a branch of the Iraqi military from 1969 to 2003..."
Article title : Casualties of the Iraq War
"summarize reports on Iraqi casualty figures. Scientific surveys: Body counts: Overview: Iraqi death estimates by source Summary of casualties of the Iraq War..."

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