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Timeline of Key Events in Iraq, April 10, 2003-June 30, 2004
April 11, 2003
Coalition forces take control of Kirkuk and its oilfields.
The US Department of Defense (DoD) announces that Iraqi Army units in the north are the last remaining significant military formations left standing following the end of formal military operations.
A suicide bombing in Baghdad kills one US Marine.
In the Iraqi city of Najaf, a Shi’ite cleric, Abdul Majid al-Khoei, is killed.
April 12, 2003
The Iraqi city of Mosul falls to US and Kurdish troops.
Widespread looting and chaos spreads throughout Iraq as a result of the collapse of the Saddam Hussein Administration.
April 13, 2003
US military troops issue a dusk-to-dawn curfew in Baghdad in order to stop looting and chaos.
In Baghdad, US Marines exchange heavy fire with loyalists to former Iraqi Pres. Saddam.
US troops discover large Iraqi arms caches near homes and schools in densely-populated parts of the city.
Syria accuses US of trying to destroy Iraqi institutions.
US accuses Syria of helping Iraqi troops loyal to former Pres. Saddam.
US military troops focus on taking over former Pres. Saddam’s hometown, Tikrit.
The International Red Cross claims that the security situation in Baghdad and other Iraqi cities is catastrophic.
Former Pres. Saddam’s scientific advisor, Amir al-Saadi, surrenders to US forces in Baghdad.
April 14, 2003
US Marines take over the center of Tikrit.
Commander of US forces, Gen. Tommy Franks, announces that it would be premature to declare the war over.
US forces find seven US soldiers who had been listed as missing or prisoners of war.
US officials report it will administer Iraq until a temporary Iraqi civilian authority could be formed.
April 15, 2003
The US Bush Administration warns Syria not to provide safe havens for former leaders of the Saddam Administration.
April 16, 2003
US officials announce the capture of Palestinian terrorist Abu Abbas in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad.
US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, reports US forces shut down a pipeline that sent 200 thousand barrels of oil from Iraq to Syria daily.
US Defense Secretary Rumsfeld announces that Iraq must undergo a “de-Ba’athification” process.
US Pres. Bush announces that military victory in Iraq is certain, but not yet complete.
April 17, 2003
Coalition special operations forces capture Barzan Ibrahim Hasan al-Tikriti, a half-brother of former Pres. Saddam.
April 18, 2003
The US Department of Defense announces that it is sending a 1,000-man team into Iraq to begin searching for weapons of mass destruction, and to conduct other intelligence tasks.
US officials announce that Bechtel Corporation will receive a multi-million dollar contract for reconstruction in Iraq.
Brig.-Gen. Vincent Brooks of US Central Command, announces Samir abd al Aziz al Najm, Number 24 on the 55 most-wanted list, is captured by Iraqi Kurds.
1,600 bodies, in shallow graves, are found in Kirkuk.
April 19, 2003
Hikmat al-Azzawi, Saddam Administration Deputy Prime Minister, and Economics and Finance Minister, is captured by Iraqi police in Baghdad.
US Department of Defense says Kamal Mustafa Abdallah Sultan al-Tikriti, former secretary of the Republican Guard and Special Republican Guard, is believed to have escaped into Syria
US soldiers find hundreds of millions of US dollars hidden in Baghdad.
April 20, 2003
US military announces the capture of Humam Abd al-Khaliq Abd Al-Gafar, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, and Jamal Mustafa Abdallah Sultan al-Tikriti, Saddam’s son-in-law.
US Marines withdraw from Baghdad, leaving US Army units in control.
Retired US Lt.-Gen. Jay Garner named to head Iraq's Civil Administration while a new Government was being established.
April 21, 2003
Muhammad Hazmaq al-Zubaydi, former Prime Minister and Saddam’s central Euphrates regional commander, is taken into custody by Coalition forces.
US Special Forces discover large weapons caches south of Kirkuk containing a variety of munitions, including multiple- launch rocket munitions, artillery rounds and 50 SA-7 man-portable surface-to-air missile rounds.
April 22, 2003
Brig.-Gen. Vincent Brooks announce Coalition Forces are under a ceasefire in Iraq with formerly pro-Saddam armed Iranian militia, the Mujahedin-e-Khalq.
April 23, 2003
Three US Marines are killed and seven others injured as a rocket-propelled grenade launcher malfunctioned during a practice exercise.
US DoD announce that Iranian backed agents have moved into southern Iraq to promote Shi’ite and Iranian interests within the Shi’a community.
April 24, 2003
Tariq Aziz, the former deputy Prime Minister of Iraq, surrenders to Coalition Forces.
US officials announce Muzahim Sa’b Hassan al Tikriti former commander of Iraq’s Air Defense Force, Iraq's former minister of trade, Muhammad Mahdi al-Salih, and Zuhayr al-Naqib director of military intelligence, are taken into custody.
April 25, 2003
A 30 man Iraqi paramilitary force attacks Coalition Forces on patrol in Mosul.
Defense Secretary Rumsfeld announces the end of the war will never be declared.
US Department of Defense announce there are still pockets of resistance throughout Iraq.
US officials announce Farouk Hijazi, former operations chief for Saddam Hussein's intelligence service, is now is US custody.
April 26, 2003
A US soldier is killed and another is wounded when they responded to Iraqi gunfire
April 27, 2003
US officials are testing drums found in northern Iraq after preliminary tests indicated the contents of one of the drums discovered the presence of two different chemical agents.
Hossam Amin the former chief of Iraq's National Monitoring Directorate, is taken into custody.
Four US soldiers are wounded as they came under an ambush attack in downtown Baghdad.
April 28, 2003
The substances found on drums in northern Iraq are sent away for additional testing.
April 29, 2003
The Bush Administration announce members of an al-Qaida affiliated terror group are operating in Iraq have been captured
15 Iraqi civilians are killed and 53 injured during a gunfight with US troops in Fallujah.
April 30, 2003
Two Iraqi civilians are killed and 15 injured in a clash with US troops.
US Department of Defense announce US Pres. Bush is set to declare major combat in Iraq over.
May 1, 2003
US Pres. Bush says major military operation in Iraq completed.
US military officials announce that the violence between Iraqi protesters and US soldiers may have been the work of former ruling Ba’ath party officials.
Unknown assailants toss two grenades into a US military compound in Fallujah injuring seven soldiers.
British Officials announce it is sending a diplomatic delegation to Iraq.
May 2, 2003
US Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld announce he does not know how many troops are needed in Iraq to complete the job.
May 4, 2003
US State and Defense Departments say it would like to speed up the processing of detainees currently being held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
May 5, 2003
US forces report they are making tremendous humanitarian progress in Iraq.
May 6, 2003
US Pres. Bush announces he is going to appoint L. Paul Bremer III to head the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA), established to govern Iraq until power can be handed over to an Iraqi Government.
May 7, 2003
Coalition forces obtain an Iraqi mobile biological weapons production facility. No traces of biological weapons are found.
May 8, 2003
7,000 Iraqi detainees are released from the US internment facility at Umm Qasr.
May 9, 2003
A US soldier from the US Army's 5th Corps is killed in a shooting in eastern Baghdad.
May 14, 2003
US Lt.-Gen. David McKiernan states that US troops will only shoot looters who threaten the lives of the troops.
May 15, 2003
US and Coalition forces report they have only checked about 20 percent of 600 suspected WMD sites.
May 20, 2003
US Defense Secretary Rumsfeld says he has no objection to officials from the International Atomic Energy Agency going back to Iraq.
May 22, 2003,
The United Nations lifts sanctions against Iraq after a 14-0 vote in the Security Council.
May 27, 2003
Two US Army soldiers are killed and nine injured during a firefight with hostile forces near Fallujah.
The US Central Command reports that one US soldier is killed and three injured when a Humvee ran over a land mine.
A US military convoy is attacked northwest of Baghdad. One US soldier is killed and another is wounded during the attack.
May 30, 2003
US troops find significant weapons caches in Baghdad.
US Central Command announces there are 7,000 Iraqi police on the streets of Baghdad.
June 5, 2003
One soldier is killed and five wounded in an attack in Fallujah by assailant firing a rocket-propelled grenade.
June 12, 2003
A US Air Force F-16C fighter crashes south-west of Baghdad.
US Army AH-64 Apache helicopter is shot down by hostile fire in western Iraq.
June 15-29, 2003
About 1,300 US troops launch Operation Desert Scorpion to combat organized Iraqi resistance against US troops near Fallujah.
July 7, 2003
US Pres. Bush says evidence that Iraq was pursuing a nuclear weapons program by seeking to buy uranium from Africa was incorrect and should not have been used.
July 16, 2003
US Gen. John Abizaid calls the continued attacks on coalition troops a guerilla campaign.
July 22, 2003
Former Iraq Pres. Saddam Hussein’s sons, Uday and Qusay Hussein, are killed when US forces attack a home at which they were staying in Mosul.
August 5, 2003
International Red Cross officials say US led authorities are complying with the Geneva Convention.
US led coalition forces hold in custody 5,000 Iraqi prisoners.
August 6, 2003
An improvised explosive device (IED) is ignited near a truck in Baghdad carrying a US contractor for Kellogg, Brown & Root.
US Army assigns two teams of medical investigators to determine the cause of a pneumonia outbreak among US troops.
The Govt. of Thailand announces it will reduce by 886 the number of troops designated to go to Iraq.
August 19, 2003
A suicide bomb destroys UN headquarters in Baghdad, killing 24, including the UN Special Representative for Iraq, Sergio Vieira de Mello.
August 29, 2003
A bomb kills one of Iraq’s most important Shi’ite leaders Ayatollah Muhammad Bakr al-Hakim, as well as about 80 others.
September 7, 2003
US Pres. Bush announces that an additional $87-billion is needed to cover additional military and reconstruction costs.
October 16, 2003
UN Security Council approves the US and UK resolution on Iraq’s reconstruction which supports an international force in the country under US authority.
October 27, 2003
Four coordinated suicide attacks in Baghdad kill 43 and wound more than 200. Targets included the headquarters of the Red Crescent (Islamic Red Cross) and three police stations.
November 2, 2003
Guerillas shoot down a US helicopter killing 16 US soldiers and injuring 21 others.
November 14, 2003
The Bush Administration reverses policy striking a deal with the Iraqi Governing Council agreeing to transfer power to an interim government in early 2004.
December 9, 2003
US Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz forbids France, Germany, and Russia from bidding on contracts for rebuilding Iraq.
December 13, 2003
Former Iraq Pres. Saddam is captured by US Army troops of the 1st Bde., 4th Infantry Div.. Former President found in a makeshift, one-man bunker nine miles (15 km) south-east of Tikrit. No shots fired and the former President offered no resistance.
January 11, 2004
Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the most influential Shi’ite cleric in Iraq, announces members of the country’s interim government must be selected by direct vote.
January 15, 2004
Tens of thousands of Shi’ites hold peaceful demonstrations in Basra in support of direct elections.
January 19, 2004
The US asks UN to intercede in the dispute over the elections process in Iraq.
100,000 Shi’ites march in Baghdad and other cities in support of the Shi’ite cleric, Ayatollah al-Sistani’s demand for direct elections.
Janurary 28, 2004
David Kay the former head of the US weapons inspection teams in Iraq, informs the US Senate Committee that no WMD have been found in Iraq and that prewar intelligence was almost all wrong.
February 2, 2004
President Bush calls for an independent commission to study the country's intelligence failures.
February 10, 2004
54 Iraqis are killed by a car bomb while applying for jobs at a police station.
February 19, 2004
UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan announces the results of its report about Iraqi elections, concluding that “elections cannot be held before the end of June [2004], that the June 30 [2004] date for the handover of sovereignty must be respected, and that we need to find a mechanism to create the caretaker government and then prepare the elections sometime later in the future”.
February 23, 2004
UN envoy to Iraq Lakhtar Brahimi issues a report to the Security Council concluding that the earliest that credible, direct elections could be held in Iraq would be late 2004 or early 2005. He also outlines several possible options for structuring an interim government which would rule the country after the June 30, 2004, handover and until the results of elections in 2004 or 2005. He recommends that Iraqis themselves draw up a plan for the makeup of the provisional government
March 2, 2004
Suicide attacks in Karbala kill more than 85 and wound 233 others.
March 8, 2004
The Iraqi Governing Council signs an interim constitution, which includes a bill of rights, a system of checks and balances, and a military subordinate to civilian rule
March 17, 2004
27 people are killed and 41 wounded in a car bombing outside of a hotel in Baghdad.
March 28, 2004
Coalition forces shut down radical cleric Moktada al-Al-Sadr’s newspaper, the Al- Hawaz.
March 31, 2004
An Iraqi mob kills and mutilates four US civilian contract workers and then drags them through the streets of Falluja.
April 4, 2004
US troops begin assault on Falluja in response to March 31 assassinations of four US civilian contractors.
April 9, 2004
US contractor Thomas Hamil is taken hostage.
April 11, 2004
US orders a cease-fire in Falluja to give political discussions a chance.
April 12, 2004
Iraqi’s interim Government appoints a 25 member panel to draw a procedure to draft the new Iraqi Constitution.
US officials call for a Security Council vote allowing for UN assistance in Iraq
Eight US soldiers die in worst fighting since coalition forces took over in Iraq.
April 13, 2004
US Civilian Administrator Paul Bremer announces there is a major terrorist threat in Iraq.
US Gen. John Abizaid asks the Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld for additional troops.
Kidnappers threaten to kill US hostage Thomas Hamill. In addition to Hamill, nine other US citizens including two soldiers are missing.
April 14, 2004:
Coalition forces recruit Iraqi officers to help fight insurgent forces.
April 15, 2004:
US Dept. of Commerce is trying to lure back businesses into Iraq in order to help restore the economy.
US Marines launch offensive in Fallujah that leaves hundreds of Iraqi citizens dead.
Shi’ites and Sunnis unite fronts in their opposition to coalition forces.
April 16, 2004:
A UN proposal to remove the Iraqi Governing Council and replace them with a caretaker government once power is handed over to the Iraqis is accepted by the Bush Administration.
The first secretary at the Iranian Embassy in Baghdad, Khalil Naimi is assassinated.
US Defense Secretary Rumsfeld reports that he underestimated the level of violence that would occur in Iraq.
April 19, 2004:
The US accuses Iran to be supporting the Iraqi Shi’ite cleric, Moqtada Al-Sadr.
April 20, 2004
The Spanish Government announces they will be withdrawing their 1300 troops from Iraq.
April 21, 2004
US Pres. Bush says he wants the UN to play a bigger rôle in assisting with Iraq’s interim government and in assisting with writing the new Iraqi Constitution.
April 22, 2004
The Honduras and the Dominican Republic Governments announce they will withdraw 671 troops.
UK Prime Minister Tony Blair announces that he has no plans to send additional troops to Iraq.
US officials allow Ba’ath party members to be included in the new government.
A suicide car bombs detonates in the Iraqi city of Basra.
Judges and prosecutors are selected by the Iraqi Governing Council for the trial of former Iraq Pres. Saddam.
April 23, 2004
Islamic countries call for the Security Council to pass a resolution allowing the UN to play greater role in keeping peace in Iraq.
US military reduces the number of Iraqi security forces.
April 26, 2004
Many US soldiers say the US Pentagon is not providing them with the best technology US has to offer, in particular tanks and body armor.
The US DoD announces that 3,864 troops have been wounded in action since the war began in March 2003.
April 27, 2004
US forces are attacked in two cities: Fallujah and Najaf. The battle at Fallujah resulted in a Mosque being destroyed.
April 28, 2004..
International Red Cross officials visit the former Iraqi Pres. Saddam in a secret prison in Baghdad.
US officials announce that they will establish a compensation fund for those who were imprisoned or jailed during the Saddam Hussein era.
Philipine President Malacañang decides against pulling out his troops and aid workers from Iraq.
April 29, 2004
US DoD reviews different force protection technologies for potential use in Iraq
British Prime Minister Tony Blair defends US tactics used in the fight for Fallujah.
The Republic of Korea Government announces it will stand by its commitment to send additional troops to Iraq despite opposition from some newly elected lawmakers.
Libyan President Mu’ammar al-Qadhafi says the Coalition’s invasion of Iraq is the evidence of the failings of Western-style democracy.
April 30, 2004.
US DoD reports they are going to send into Iraq 163 unmanned ground vehicles (UGV)
May 1, 2004
Photographs are released showing the alleged abuse of Iraqi prisoners by both US and British troops.
The US military announces six US soldiers are being charged with abusing inmates at Abu Ghraib prison.
A US soldier is killed Saturday as a roadside bomb explodes near a convoy south of Qarrayah.
May 2, 2004
Thomas Hamill, kidnapped three weeks ago by an insurgent attack on his convoy is found by US forces.
A mortar attack kills six US servicemen in western Iraq.
May 3, 2004
Moqtada al-Al-Sadr's militia launches a serious attack on US forces just south of Baghdad. Five Iraqi civilians are killed.
Interim Iraqi human rights minister Abdel Basset Turki resigns from his post.
Two Task Force Baghdad Soldiers are killed and one is wounded during an improvised explosive device attack on their convoy in Baghdad.
Two US Soldiers are killed and six are wounded when their convoy is attacked by rocket-propelled grenades and small arms in Amarah.
May 4, 2004
Iraqi Shi’ite militiamen fire several mortar shells on a US base in Najaf.
The US Senate Armed Services Committee announces it is going to hold a public hearing into the allegations of abuse of prisoners at Abu Ghraib.
There is a large explosion in a western suburb of Baghdad where the Abu Ghraib prison complex is located.
May 5, 2004
The head of a small local Islamic party that had opposed Saddam Hussein Radi Abdul-Zahra al-Hilaif, is killed.
US forces in Iraq report four US soldiers and at least 24 Shi’a militiamen loyal to Moqtada Al-Sadr to have died in fighting south of Baghdad
Three US soldiers are killed in the Iraqi town of Diwaniya during clashes with the militia loyal to Moqtada al-Al-Sadr.
May 6, 2004
US led forces launch an assault against militiamen loyal to Shi’te cleric Moqtada al-Al-Sadr.
A suicide car bomb explodes near a checkpoint to the main complex housing US administrative offices in central Baghdad, killing an American soldier and five Iraqi civilians.
Iraqi Governing Council member Mohammed Bahr al-Ulloum delivers a message to al-Al-Sadr calling for his militia to disarm and leave Najaf.
US Maj -Gen. Geoffrey Miller apologizes for the "illegal or unauthorized acts" committed by a "small number of our soldiers" at the Abu Ghraib prison.
US Pres. Bush goes onto two Arabic TV stations condemning the prisoners' treatment as "abhorrent" and pledged that those found guilty "will be brought to justice."
May 7, 2004
A Polish and an Algerian journalist, both working for Poland's TVP television, are shot dead by gunmen south of Baghdad
A roadside bomb kills four Iraqi policemen and wounds one in the city of Mosul.
May 9, 2004
Shi’ite gunmen attack British patrols in Basra.
Five people are killed in an explosion at a Baghdad market.
US military begins an offensive to take control of Najaf killing more than 50 of Muqtada al-Al-Sadr militia.
May 10, 2004
Iraqi insurgents bomb an oil pipeline in southern Iraq.
A US aircraft destroys a Baghdad office of Shi’ite cleric Muqtada al-Al-Sadr.
A bomb explodes outside the Four Seasons Hotel in Baghdad, injuring up to eight people.
May 11, 2004
Heavy gunfire and explosions are heard in Karbala where US troops battle insurgent attacks. US forces kill 22 militants.
Three Iraqis are killed and 22 injured in a bomb attack in Kirkuk.
May 13, 2004
Three Iraqis are killed by an attack on a police station in Najaf.
US Defense Secretary Rumsfeld arrives in Iraq to address the US troops, meet with key personnel and tour the Abu Ghraib prison.
May 14, 2004
Five rocket attacks by insurgent forces hit civilian structures in Baghdad.
US military spokesman says that US forces face 50 attacks by day with rocket-propelled grenades, assault rifles or mortars.
May 15, 2004
British troops kill up to 20 Iraqis as the soldiers fought their way out of a series of three roadside ambushes in southern Iraq.
600 Filipinos working inside a US military base in Iraq decide they are going to leave after a mortar attack on the base killed a Filipino warehouseman and wounded four others.
A guerilla rocket attack on the Green Zone compound that houses the headquarters of the US led administration in Baghdad wounds a soldier and a civilian.
May 17, 2004
The head of Iraq's US appointed Governing Council Izzedine Salim is killed in a car bomb blast near the headquarters of the US led coalition in Baghdad.
Coalition troops find an artillery round containing the deadly nerve gas sarin.
US officials announce they are planning to relocate some of its forces from South Korea to Iraq.
May 19, 2004
US Pres. Bush announces a five step plan to rebuild Iraq.
A US helicopter fires on an alleged wedding party in Iraq killing 40 citizens.
2 British soldiers are killed in an explosion in central Baghdad.
The US proposes a UN resolution giving a multinational force one year after June 30 handover.
May 20, 2004
US soldiers and Iraqi police raid the residence of Ahmad Chalabi.
The first US soldier, Spc. Jeremy Sivits, is sentenced to receive one year confinement, a bad conduct discharge and a reduction in rank to private for being involved in prisoner abuse.
May 21, 2004
Coalition forces capture four individuals suspected of being involved in the murder of US contractor Nicholas Berg.
454 detainees at Abu Ghraib prison are released.
May 22, 2004
The US military says it killed 10 Iraqis during heavy fighting in Karbala and Najaf.
May 24, 2004
An explosion outside coalition headquarters in Baghdad kills four people.
May 25, 2004
The US military confirms that its top commander in Iraq Lt.-Gen. Ricardo Sanchez is to be replaced. According to US officials, the move is part of a normal rotation after 13 months on duty and has nothing to do with the Iraqi prisoner abuse scandal.
One of Iraq's holy shrines is damaged as a result of recent clashes between US troops and Moqtada Al-Sadr’s troops.
A car bomb explodes near the Australian Embassy in Baghdad.
May 26, 2004
US troops have arrested Sayyed Ryad al-Nuri, the brother-in-law of Iraqi Shi’a cleric Moqtada Al-Sadr in Najaf.
Four US troops are killed and 29 are wounded in fighting with Moqtada Al-Sadr’s militia.
May 27, 2004
US military troops suspend offensive operations in the Najaf after Moqtada Al-Sadr offers a truce.
May 28, 2004
The Iraqi Governing Council nominated Iyad Allawi to be the Prime Minister to head the new Government scheduled to take office on June 30, 2004.
June 1, 2004
Ghazi Mashal Ajil al-Yawer, a Sunni tribal leader, is named the President of the Iraqi Governing Council. Two vice-presidents also named, and Iyad Allawi, a Shi’a, is confirmed as Prime Minister. Prime Minister Iyad Allawi names his new Cabinet.
A car bomb explodes near US coalition headquarters in Baghdad killing four.
June 3, 2004
Iraq's interim leaders demand input to a UN draft resolution, which will set out how much power a new Iraqi government would have.
June 4, 2004
Five US soldiers killed and five others wounded when a bomb exploded in a Humvee vehicle in eastern Baghdad. The deaths bring the number of US troops killed in Iraq to 825 since the war began, including 605 in combat.
June 5, 2004
Iraqi Police arrest Umar Baziyani, an associate of terrorist suspect Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
June 7, 2004
Iraqi Pres. al-Yawer says that his Government would allow US commanders to retain overall control over US and international forces in Iraq after limited authority is handed over to Iraq on June 30, 2004.
June 8, 2004
Car bombs detonate in Mosul and Ba'qubah, killing 15.
June 9, 2004
The UN says it will deliver unanimous to a new Iraqi Government, and will help to steer the country toward democratic elections in 2005.
Kurdish leaders threaten to withdraw from the Iraqi state unless they receive guarantees against Shi’ite plans to limit Kurdish self-rule.
June 12, 2004
Interim Deputy Foreign Minister Bassam Qubba is killed in Baghdad.
June 14, 2004
A pair of car bombings in southern Baghdad kills at least 20 people.
Moqtada Sadr starts a political party in order to take part in take part in the 2005 Iraqi elections.
June 15, 2004
A suicide bomber rams a truck filled with explosives into a convoy of foreign contractors killing 13 people in Baghdad during the morning rush hour. Around the same time, two more bombs went off, one south of the Baghdad, one north, claiming eight more lives.
June 16, 2004
Two explosions at oil pipelines near the Persian Gulf force the shutdown of Iraq's main oil export terminal costing the country up to $1-billion in revenue.
US officials say that the US intends to transfer legal custody of former Pres. Saddam Hussein to Iraq's interim Government.
US Pres. Bush nominates Army Gen. George W. Casey Jr. to take over as the highest-ranking military commander in Iraq.
Iraq’s Interim Government receives the endorsement of the governments of Turkey, Iran, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria, and Egypt.
June 17, 2004
A suicide bomb explodes at Muthanna airport in Baghdad, killing 25 Iraqis.
Moqtada Sadr orders his militiamen to put down their arms and return to their homes.
Iraqi insurgents kill a senior Iraqi security official in the northern oil fields, and blew up another key pipeline in the south.
The world's largest Islamic group, the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), says it supports Iraq’s Interim Government, noting that it will actively assist the Administration as it takes power.
June 18, 2004
A suicide car bomb explodes in front of a Baghdad recruitment center, killing 35. Another bomb went off hours later in a village 50 miles north of Baghdad killing six members of the paramilitary Iraqi Civil Defense Corps.
June 20, 2004
The committee preparing for the July 2004 Iraqi National Conference says that it has invited Moqtada Sadr to take part.
June 21, 2004
Iraq starts to resume oil exports from southern oil terminals which had previously been damaged.
June 23, 2004
John Negroponte, former US Permanent Representative to the United Nations, sworn in as the new US Ambassador to Iraq.
June 24, 2004
Militants loyal to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi launch coordinated attacks in Mosul, Ba'qubah, Ramadi, Baghdad and Fallujah, killing 90 and wounding hundreds.
June 25, 2004
US forces launch air strikes on suspected militant hideouts in Fallujah, killing 20.
June 28, 2004
Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) on June 28, 2004, handed power to the Allawi Government, two days ahead of its self-imposed deadline of June 30, 2004. Legal documents handing over sovereignty were handed over by US CPA Chief Executive L. Paul Bremer to interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi in a small ceremony attended by about a half dozen Iraqi and coalition officials in the heavily-guarded Green Zone. Mr Bremer left Iraq later that day. All ministers in the new Government were sworn-in during another ceremony on June 28, 2004. Just before the handover occurred, documents were passed to the Chief Justice Midhat al-Mahmoudi at 10:26 hours local, and at that point, legal sovereignty was passed to the Interim Government. Brig.-Gen. Mark Kimmitt, the Coalition deputy operations chief, was the only US military official present, and CPA Chief Bremer sat on a couch with Prime Minister Allawi and Pres. Ghazi al-Yawer.
June 29, 2004
Iraqi insurgents threaten via Arab television to behead a US Marine Cpl. Wassef Ali Hassoun and a Pakistani driver whom they had kidnapped. The insurgents identified themselves as from the security wing of the National Islamic Resistance.
A roadside bomb near a US military convoy in South-Eastern Baghdad kills three US soldiers.
Iraqi insurgents kill US soldier Private First Class Keith Maupin they had held hostage for nearly three months, saying he was killed because the US Government did not change its policy in Iraq.
June 30, 2004
The Iraq Government approves re-instating the death penalty.
The US turns over former Iraqi Pres. Saddam Hussein and 11 of his deputies to Iraqi legal custody.
Iraqi insurgents fire at least 10 mortar rounds at a US base on the outskirts of Baghdad International Airport.
The US Army reopens investigations into two Iraqi prisoner deaths which had previously been attributed to natural causes.
