Events Since U.S.-Led Invasion of Iraq

2005-01-30T14:45:00.000-08:00

Key events since the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq: 2003 March 20 -- U.S.-led coalition launches Operation Iraqi Freedom to overthrow Saddam Hussein. April 9 -- U.S. troops swarm into Baghdad and jubilant crowds topple 40-foot statue of Saddam Hussein in Firdous Square. May 1 -- President Bush declares major combat operations in Iraq are over. July 13 -- U.S.-named 25-member National Governing Council of prominent Iraqis takes office. Aug. 19 -- Truck bomb wrecks United Nations offices, killing 23 people, including U.N. envoy Sergio Vieira de Mello. Nov. 15 -- Plan to transfer power to interim Iraqi government by July 2004 approved. Dec. 13 -- Saddam captured in Adwar, 10 miles south of Tikrit. 2004 March 8 -- Iraqi Governing Council signs interim constitution. April 30 -- First graphic photographs shown of naked Iraqi prisoners being humiliated by smiling U.S. military police at Abu Ghraib prison; scandal causes outrage in the region. May 28 -- Governing Council chooses Ayad Allawi, longtime anti-Saddam exile and CIA ally, as prime minister of Iraq's interim government. June 1 -- Governing Council names Ghazi al-Yawer, critic of U.S.-led occupation, as president. Council dissolves. June 8 -- U.N. Security Council approves U.S.-British timetable for interim regime, elections and adoption of constitution. June 28 -- Occupation authority turns formal power over to Allawi's interim government. July 1 -- Saddam, arraigned before judge, rejects charges of war crimes and genocide. Aug. 12 -- U.S. military begins major offensive against militiamen loyal to Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr in holy city of Najaf. Aug. 27 -- Al-Sadr's militia leaves Najaf's Imam Ali Shrine and hands control to Shiite religious authorities. Sept. 7 -- U.S. military deaths in Iraq campaign pass 1,000. Sept. 16 -- Number of foreigners kidnapped during insurgency reaches at least 100. Oct. 6 -- Top U.S. arms inspector finds no evidence Saddam's regime produced weapons of mass destruction after 1991. Nov. 1 -- Voter and candidate registration begin for national election. Nov. 7 -- Allawi's government announces two-month state of emergency in all but Kurdish-ruled northern areas as a tool in fight against insurgents. Nov. 8 -- U.S. troops begin weeklong offensive to break insurgents' control of Fallujah. Nov. 21 -- Iraqi authorities set Jan. 30 as date for election. Dec. 15 -- Beginning of political campaigns by candidates, but violence makes public campaigning virtually impossible. Dec. 21 -- Bombing in mess tent at U.S. military base in Mosul kills 24 wounds more than 60. Dec. 27 -- Al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, in audiotape, endorses Abu-Musab al-Zarqawi as his deputy in Iraq and calls for election boycott. 2005 Jan. 4 -- Gunmen assassinate Baghdad Gov. Ali al-Haidari. Jan. 6 -- Iraq extends state of emergency by 30 days. Jan. 17 -- Voter registration for Iraqi expatriates begins in 14 countries. Jan. 26 -- 31 U.S. servicemen die in helicopter crash and six others killed in insurgent ambushes, making deadliest day for Americans since Iraq invaded. Jan. 28 -- Overseas Iraqis begin three days of voting in 14 nations. Jan. 30 -- Voters in Iraq cast ballots for 275-seat National Assembly

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Events Since U.S.-Led Invasion of Iraq