Invasion Republic of Iraq. Coalition forces ,β, United States : ,β, personnel [ 5 ] [ 6 ] United Kingdom : 45, Australia : 2, Poland : Peshmerga : 70, Coalition forces β09 , at peak United States Forces β Iraq β11 , at activation Security contractors 6,β7, estimate [ 7 ] Iraqi Security Forces , [ 8 ]. Documented deaths from violence : Iraq Body Count β 14 December : ,β, civilian deaths recorded [ 75 ] and 12, new deaths added from the Iraq War Logs [ 76 ] Associated Press March β April : , Iraqi deaths in total [ 77 ].
Post-invasion insurgency β Civil war β Insurgency β It began with the invasion by a United States-led coalition , which resulted in the overthrow of the Ba'athist government of Saddam Hussein.
The conflict persisted as an insurgency arose against coalition forces and the newly established Iraqi government. US forces were officially withdrawn in The Iraq invasion was part of the Bush administration 's broader war on terror , launched in response to the September 11 attacks. The war began on March 20, , when the US, joined by the UK , Australia , and Poland , initiated a " shock and awe " bombing campaign. Following the bombings, coalition forces launched a ground invasion, defeating Iraqi forces and toppling the Ba'athist regime.
Saddam Hussein was captured in and executed in The fall of Saddam's regime created a power vacuum, which, along with the Coalition Provisional Authority 's mismanagement, fueled a sectarian civil war between Iraq's Shia majority and Sunni minority, and contributed to a lengthy insurgency. In response, the US deployed an additional , troops during the troop surge , which helped stabilize parts of the country. The primary justifications for the invasion centered around false claims Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction WMDs and that Saddam Hussein was supporting al-Qaeda.
These false claims faced widespread criticism , in the US and abroad. The Chilcot Report , a British inquiry, concluded the war was unnecessary, as peaceful alternatives had not been fully explored. In , Iraq held multi-party elections , and Nouri al-Maliki became Prime Minister in , a position he held until His government's policies alienated Iraq's Sunni minority, exacerbating sectarian tensions.
