The Iraq War: A Protracted Conflict
The Invasion of 2003
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. On 1 May 2003, U.S. President George W. Bush declared an end to major combat operations, but the conflict continued as an insurgency against U.S.-led occupation forces and the Iraqi government.
The Insurgency
The Iraq War conflict consisted of two phases: a conventionally fought war in March-April 2003, in which a U.S.-led coalition of forces invaded Iraq and toppled the government of Saddam Hussein, and a subsequent insurgency that lasted until the withdrawal of U.S. troops in 2011. The insurgency was waged by various groups, including Sunni Arab insurgents, Shia militias, and Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI).
Casualties
The Iraq War was a protracted and costly conflict. According to Iraq Body Count, a project that tracks civilian deaths in Iraq, between 243,000 and 295,000 Iraqi civilians were killed during the war. The US Department of Defense estimates that 4,488 U.S. service members were killed in Iraq, while the UK Ministry of Defence estimates that 179 UK service members were killed.
The Withdrawal of U.S. Troops
In 2011, U.S. troops were withdrawn from Iraq. The withdrawal was completed on 18 December 2011, when the last U.S. troops left Iraq. However, the conflict in Iraq continued, as the Iraqi government fought against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), a terrorist group that emerged in Iraq in 2014.
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