Timeline: Iraq

1920
April 25: Iraq is placed under British mandate.

1921
August 23: Faysal, son of Hussein Bin Ali, the Sharif of Mecca, is crowned Iraq's first king.

1932
October 3: Iraq becomes an independent state.

1958
July 14: The monarch is overthrown in a military coup, Iraq declared a Republic.

1963
February 8: Prime Minister Qasim is ousted in a coup led by the Arab Socialist Ba'th Party.
November 18: The Ba'thist government is overthrown by a group of officers.

1968
July 17: Ba'thist led coup ousts the President.

1970
The Revolution command council and Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) sign a peace agreement.

1972
A 15-year Treaty of Friendship and cooperation signed between Iraq and Soviet Union.
Iraq nationalises the Iraq Petroleum Company (IPC).

1974
Iraq grants limited autonomy to the Kurds, but KDP rejects it.

1975
March: Iran and Iraq sign a treaty ending their border disputes.

1979
July 16: President Al-Bakr resigns and is succeeded by vice president Saddam Hussein.

1980
April 1: The pro-Iranian Da'wah Party claims responsibility for an attack on Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz at Mustansiriyah University, Baghdad.
September 4: Iran shells Iraqi border towns, Iraq considers this the start of the Iran/Iraq war.
September 22: Iraq attacks Iranian air bases, Iran retaliates by bombing Iraqi military and economic targets.

1981
June 7: Israel attacks an Iraqi nuclear research centre at Tuwaythah near Baghdad - Ilan Ramon, the first Israeli in space and who later died in Columbia disaster, is one of the pilots.

1988
March 16: Iraq uses chemical weapons against the Kurdish town of Halabjah, thousands died.
August 20: Iran-Iraq ceasefire comes into effect.

1990
March 15: Iranian born journalist with the Observer, Farzad Bazoft is accused of spying and later executed.
August 2: Iraq invades Kuwait and is condemned by United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 660, which calls for full withdrawal.
August 6: UNSCR 661 imposes economic sanctions on Iraq.
August 8: Iraq announces the merger of Iraq and Kuwait - the US launches Operation Desert Shield. Iraq closes its borders the next day.
November 29: UNSCR 678 authorises the states co-operating with Kuwait to use "all necessary means" to uphold UNSCR 660.

1991
January 15: There are 580,000 allied troops in the Gulf, against 540,000 Iraqi troops.
January 16-17: The Gulf War starts with aerial bombing of Iraq (Operation Desert Storm).
January 18-20: Aerial bombardment continues, allied planes lost, Iraq parades captured airmen on TV, Scud attacks launched on Israel.
February 24: The start of the ground operation, which results in the liberation of Kuwait on February 27.
March 3: Iraq accepts the terms of a ceasefire.
Mid-March to early April: Iraqi forces suppress rebellions in the south and north of the country.
April 8: A plan for the establishment of a UN safe-haven in northern Iraq above the 36th parallel for the protection of the Kurds is approved.

1992
August 26: A no-fly zone, excluding flights of Iraqi plans is established south of the 32nd parallel, later extended to the 33rd in September 1996. Jaguars from RAF Coltishall patrol the northern no-fly zones and Tornados from RAF Marham the south, in conjunction with US aircraft.

1993
June 27: US forces launch a cruise missile attack on Iraqi intelligence HQ in Al Mansur district in retaliation for the attempted assassination of US President George Bush in Kuwait in April.

1994
May 29: Saddam Hussein becomes Prime Minister.
November 10: The Iraqi National Assembly recognises Kuwait's borders and its independence.

1995
April 14: UNSCR 986 allows partial resumption of Iraq's oil export to buy food and medicine.
October 15: Saddam Hussein wins another seven-year term as President.

1996
August 31: Iraqi forces launch offensive into northern no-fly zone.
December 12: Saddam's son Uday seriously wounded in assassination attempt.

1998
October 31: Iraq ends all forms of co-operation with the UN Special Commission to oversee the Destruction of Iraq's Weapons of Mass Destruction (Unscom).
December 16-19: US and UK launch bombing campaign (Operation Desert Fox) to destroy Iraq's nuclear, chemical and biological weapons programme.

1999
17 December: UNSCR 1284 creates UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (Unmovic) to replace Unscom, Iraq rejects resolution.

2000
March 1: Hans Blix becomes executive chairman of Unmovic.
August: Baghdad airport reopens, international flights organised by countries and organisations opposed to sanctions begins.

2001
February: Britain and US carry out bombing raids to disable Iraq's air defence network.

2002
May: UN Security Council agrees to overhaul the sanctions regime, replacing blanket ban on a range of goods with "smart" sanctions targeted at military and dual-use equipment.
October: Saddam Hussein is re-elected for another seven-year term as president.
November 8: UNSCR 1441 demands unfettered access for UN inspectors to search for weapons of mass destruction.
November: UN weapons inspectors return to Iraq for first time since 1998.
December 7: Iraq hands over arms declaration, a 12,000 page dossier.

2003
January: US and British troop build-up in the Gulf.
January 16: Weapons inspectors find empty chemical warheads.
January 27: Chief Weapons inspector Dr Hans Blix delivers a report to the UN Security Council accusing Baghdad of failing to come to a "genuine acceptance" of disarmament.
February: Tension rises in the Gulf, deployment of troops and aircraft grows, but serious divisions within Nato over need for second UNSCR on arms inspections.
February 5: US Secretary of State Colin Powell sets out America's case for war with Iraq.
February 14: UN weapons chief inspector Hans Blix, presenting his second report to the UN, insists that Saddam Hussein could still be disarmed without the use of force and says inspections need to be given more time.
Nato agrees to begin planning defence measures to protect Turkey in the event of US-led war against Ira, ending a month-long deadlock that had opened the biggest rift in the West since the Cold War.
February 24/25: Britain and US submit second resolution to UNSC declaring that time had run out for Saddam Hussein but France, Germany and Russia scupper any chances of a smooth passage.
February 26: Tony Blair faces massive backbench revolt against military action to stop Saddam Hussein using weapons of mass destruction.
March 1: Iraq begins destroying Al Samoud 2 missiles.
March 3: Air strikes against Iraqi military sites in southern no-fly zone are stepped up after US and British jets come under fire while on patrol. US B-52 bombers fly into Britain.
March 5: French, Russian and German officials said they would not back a resolution that leads to war.
March 6: Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said that Britain will "strain every nerve" to avoid conflict as diplomats pushed a compromise plan to give Saddam Hussein an ultimatum to comply with previous UN resolutions.
March 7: The United States and Britain quotes a 10-day deadline to avoid war, brushing aside an appeal from Hans Blix to be given substantially more time for weapons inspections.
March 9: Iraq claims that UN inspectors know the country has had no nuclear weapons, and that it would soon prove it had no biological or chemical weaponry.
Former armed forces minister Doug Henderson says 150 Labour MPs could rebel if a new resolution isn't sought.
March 10: UN Secretary General Kofi bnnan piled pressure on Tony Blair, saying the legality of any military action without UN backing would be "seriously impaired".
Jacques Chirac said for the first time that France would not vote for any resolution where conditions would ultimately lead to war.
March 11: US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfield said the US could go to war without Britain.
March 12: Foreign Secretary Jack Straw accepts that Britain may have to abandon hope of a securing a UN resolution.
March 13: US and British troops start to mass near Kuwait's border with Iraq.
March 14: Signs emerge that six smaller states on the UN Security Council may be sympathetic to a new resolution. Hans Blix says he has yet to find a "smoking gun".
March 16: George W Bush, Tony Blair and Spanish premier Jose Maria Aznar hold a conference in Azores. Blair and Bush say the "moment of truth" has come for Saddam.
March 17: US and British diplomats end attempts to get a new resolution because they are unable to get majority backing from the Security Council.
Robin Cook resigns as Leader of the House of Commons, unable to support Government policy.
March 18: President Bush gives Saddam Hussein and his sons 48 hours to leave Iraq. Tony Blair speaks to Labour MPs before a Commons vote as two ministers resign.
March 20: War begins with massive explosions rocking Baghdad at around 2.30am GMT. Government buildings and Saddam Hussein’s palaces are devastated, but the “decapitation” strike to kill Saddam and his elite fails.
US President George W Bush delivers a TV address vowing to “disarm Iraq and to free its people” and Prime Minister Tony Blair confirms British troops are in action.
March 21: “Shock and Awe” begins, with a massive bombardment of Baghdad and military units meant to leave Iraq reeling.
Britain has its first casualties, when eight servicemen, along with four American troops, die in a US CH-46 Sea Knight helicopter crash south of the Kuwaiti border as ground invasion begins.
March 22: Six British servicemen die when two Royal Navy Sea King helicopters collide over the northern Arabian Gulf.
Allied forces advance deeper into Iraq, capturing some key oilfields and bridges but face stiffening resistance.
Baghdad suffers fourth night of heavy air raids.
March 23: Five captured US soldiers are paraded on Iraqi TV as military leaders say they have endured the “toughest day”, against fierce resistance near Najaf.
Two airmen from RAF Marham are killed when their GRF Tornado is shot down by accident by a US Patriot missile and two British soldiers are killed in an attack by Iraqis on their British Land Rovers.
March 24: Saddam Hussein appears on Iraqi TV to scotch rumours he is dead.
US military commanders claim rapid progress but Tony Blair warns of difficult days ahead. Another British soldier is killed while trying to calm a riot near Al Zubayr.
March 25: The long-awaited uprising of civilians against the regime is reported in Basra, but a large scale revolt fails to materialise, while a vast orange sandstorm brings military operations to a standstill. Two British tank solders killed by accident after coming under attack from another British Challenger 2 tank.
March 26: Arab TV station al-Jazeera causes outrage by broadcasting footage of the bodies of two British servicemen killed in action. America claims Iraqi forces publicly executed some captured US troops at Nasiriyah.
March 27: Chaos ensues as desperate Iraqi civilians hijack a First Aid convoy and fighting erupts in a scramble for food and water at Safwan.
On the military front, UK troops destroy 14 Iraqi tanks outside Basra, in what is believed to be the largest tank battle involving British forces since the second world war.
March 28: British troops call the US pilot of an A-10 a “cowboy” after he fires on British armoured vehicles, killing British L/Cpl Matty Hull.
Government officials expressed “regret” for any distress caused, after Tony Blair says two British soldiers were “executed” by the Iraqis. The Iraqis deny this.
March 29: An Iraqi army officer kills four US soldiers in a suicide attack, a tactic Baghdad says it will start using regularly.
An explosion at a crowded market in Baghdad claims at least 58 lives and leaves dozens wounded, Iraqi officials claim.
March 30: Former Foreign Secretary Robin Cook is heaped with criticism after calling on Prime Minister Tony Blair to bring Britain’s troops home.
Royal Marines engage in the “hardest battle yet” against thousands of Iraqi Republican Guards dug-in at Basra. One Royal Marine is killed.
US military commanders reject criticism of the campaign saying “remarkable progress” has been made and deny a “pause” to regroup.
March 31: British forces raid Ba’ath party headquarters in Basra and five people are taken away for interrogation.
A plane carrying nine injured troops and a badly burned six-month old Iraqi girl lands in the UK at Liverpool John Lennon Airport. A British bomb disposal expert is killed by a landmine.
April 1: Innocent Iraqi casualties begin to mount as at least 11 members of the same family, mostly children, are killed by a coalition air strike in Hilla, south of Baghdad.
Seven women and children are killed when US troops fire on a van which fails to stop at a checkpoint near Karbala.
Allied commanders blame the Iraqis for using “terror tactics”. A British soldier is killed in an accident involving an armoured vehicle.
April 2: US POW Jessica Lynch is flown to Germany for medical treatment after the 19-year-old solider is dramatically rescued by special forces. An attack on British war graves in France causes outrage.
April 3: US troops claim to have overrun Baghdad’s Saddam Hussein Airport against almost no opposition from Iraqi forces but military chiefs are accused of breaking the rules of war by using “cluster” bombs banned under the Geneva Convention.
April 4: Iraqi information minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf threatens “non-conventional . . . martyrdom operations”.
Lebanese TV shows video footage allegedly of Saddam Hussein walking in the streets of Baghdad and being cheered by hundreds of people.
April 5: Coalition tanks enter Baghdad on what appears to be the first significant push inside the city boundaries, killing around 1000 Iraqi defenders.
British troops find hundreds of human remains in a “makeshift morgue” in southern Iraq.
April 6: British forces storm Basra and seize control of large swathes of Iraq’s second city after launching a lightning strike involving Desert Rats and Royal Marines. Three British soldiers are killed.
US troops again make incursions into Baghdad, sweeping through its southern suburbs.
April 7: British officers say the body of Saddam’s cousin and loyal henchman Ali Hassan al-Majid, dubbed “Chemical Ali”, has been found.
A US bomber strikes a Baghdad restaurant after US intelligence receives information that Saddam, his sons and other top Iraqi leaders might be meeting there.
Col Chris Vernon, the senior spokesman for the British Army in Iraq, confirms that the British now control Basra and there are now no areas of the city of concern to UK troops.
April 8: Mr Bush says Iraq will “move as quickly as possible” to an interim authority made up of Iraqis from inside and outside the country.
UK security sources say they believe Saddam may have escaped the previous day’s blast.
April 9: Dawn in Baghdad is followed closely by scenes of jubilant Iraqi civilians dancing in the street and looting in the Shiite slums of Saddam City after Saddam’s regime melted away the night before.
By 1.30pm US tanks roll into the heart of the capital, completing the liberation of the city in front of the world’s media assembled at the Palestine Hotel.